Tooth extraction advice please!

[OpheIiaBaIIs]

I had an emergency extraction of upper left 7 molar on Tuesday morning. So far so good, although yesterday I felt like I'd been hit by a truck - really tired and sleepy. Could be the shock to my system I suppose, or the cocodamol I took, but I suspect that's normal?

Anyway, I've been reading about aftercare on the internet and there's so much conflicting advice! So as ever in these situations I'm turning to MN for clarification

1. When can I eat normally? I'm currently on things like buttery mash and custard (though not at the same time!). Cooking 'proper' food for the family is torture! Will I be able to have crispy roasties on Christmas Day? PLEASE say I will...

1. Drinks. Alcoholic and not. When can I have a cup of coffee? I've scared myself silly reading about dry socket and am doing EVERYTHING I can to avoid it but no coffee (the acid can destroy the clot, apparently) is a nightmare. Also, when can I have carbonated drinks/alcohol? I'm supposed to be going out tomorrow night, I don't plan on getting wasted or anything (those days are long over) but will 3 or 4 bottles of beer be ok? Again, I'm worried about dissolving the clot.

1. Will I be healed by Christmas? See above, re roasties. And booze.

1. When has the risk of dry socket/infection passed? My health anxiety is not enjoying the worry at all.

Thank you and sorry for all the questions so early in the morning!

Pretty crappy of the dentist not to give you an advice sheet.

Here is a link to the guidance DP received when he had a tooth out.

www.fortwilliamclinic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/INSTRUCTIONS-FOLLOWING-SURGICAL-DENTAL-TREATMENT-1.pdf

@ArlenesWoodBurningStove she gave me a very basic sheet about what to do if I suspected infection, not to eat anything hot for 24 hours, not to smoke etc. I was too out of it to think what questions I needed answering before I left.

That guidance sheet is really helpful, thank you so much!

Happy to help, we were similarly terrified of dry socket but DP didn’t have any problems. He was really careful with brushing and eating so as not to touch the wound. He used Corsodyl to rinse with instead of salt, but the dentist said that was fine. He didn’t vigorously swoosh like you see on mouthwash ads, he sort of tilted his head and let the Corsodyl wash across it.

I have had 2 extractions recently. I was eating normally again within a week.

I should also say with one of them, the clot fell out (oughing and sneezing fit) and left me with a little pouch, which took a few weeks to heal over completely but that didn't cause any problems, I just swished mouth wash around to make sure it was clean. There was also a tiny fragment of tooth left in which worked its way out through the gum.

Im not telling you this to worry you, just to reassure you that even if it doesn't heal without a hitch you will still be absolutely fine. Having a drink won't be a problem.

It'll be well healed by Christmas. Takes about two weeks to seal over properly and I was eating and drinking normally after that. Try not to disturb the yellow gunk in the socket, it's there to protect to clot.

Thank you all so much for your reassuring words. I'm so glad I'm ok to have a beer or two tomorrow, god knows after this week I bloody well need it!

I'm paranoid it's infected now - DH says my breath smells and my mouth does taste 'funny' but there's no pain or swelling and I don't have a temperature. Could it be because of the salt water rinses? My mouth does feel pickled, it's horrible. Plus the lack of solid food/codeine I took the last couple of days have made me constipated. Such joy.

When does the danger of dry socket pass, does anyone know? So I can stop being so paranoid about getting it!

Shamelessly bumping - the bad breath/taste thing has really got me worried now! It's definitely not dry socket (there's a lovely greyish whitish clot there) and there's no pain other than a very slight itchy feeling which I associate with wound healing. Now DH has mentioned how I smell I'm really conscious of it.

Is bad breath/taste normal? It's kind of like morning breath, and a bit metallic. Not exactly foul, but not pleasant.

Sorry again for all the questions!

It's not infected OP by the sounds of it.

The risk of dry socket starts decreasing after the 5th day I would say, definitely after a week, the biggest risk is smoking anyway so don't worry about it. A dry socket isn't anything to worry about, it's horribly painful but that's it. It's not going to harm you.

You can eat whatever you feel like, I'd avoid anything too crunchy or crispy for a week but there's no reason you can't eat a relatively normal diet. It doesn't have to be mash/soup

Alcohol will be fine tomorrow. Coffee will be fine.

A lot of people have bad breath after an extraction. Keep it clean with plenty of saltwater. If it's not swollen sore or there's no temperature it's not infected and plenty of saltwater will prevent any infection developing.

It's rare for extraction sites to get properly infected OP.

Oh gosh thank you so much. Such a relief. I've had an awful few weeks with this tooth and I was beginning to think it would never end. Thank you for taking the time to reassure me.

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to my morning coffee/Friday evening beer!

Once the granulation tissue (the funky yellow stuff) starts to disappear after about a week your risk of dry socket is low. You'll even be able to brush it normally soon after.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut thank you for the reassurance! It's still looking lovely and funky (grey and yellow with a soupçon of red, yummy) but less so than it was, and it doesn't hurt at all. My bad breath (ew) is finally starting to clear up, too. It'll be a week on Tuesday morning so hopefully I'm now almost in the clear as far as infection/dry socket is concerned. Still doing saltwater rinses 4 or 5 times a day, not sure how I long I need to keep them up for though?

Keep doing them until it has sealed over so until there is no more red or yellow its all just pink. Once the red has gone you're in the clear for dry socket.

You’ll be fine for Christmas

(Really exciting) update: I had a long standing appointment at my usual dentist yesterday, and she said it's healing well, and that I can gently brush around it again. Such a relief - but when I brushed as directed this morning, it bled! Only very briefly (maybe 5 seconds), but the socket/clot now has what looks like a little pink blister which wasn't there before. She said the risk of dry socket passes after 48 hours (seemed a bit brief to me?) but now I'm worried I've set my healing back. Or maybe it was just a bit of inflammation from (yuck) food debris?

The rest of my teeth are healthy though so that's good news!

Your not going to get a dry socket at this stage OP.

If you haven't been brushing around that area chances are it's a little bit inflamed. 5 seconds of bleeding is really nothing, if your dentist said it's healing well then it's healing well. Don't worry!

@BlueCornsihPixie thank you so much for answering my paranoid questions yet again! You've been brilliant

Dry socket is mostly a risk in first two days, don’t swish with the salt water and just hold it in your mouth, don’t smoke, don’t use a straw. I had an infection in a wisdom tooth extraction and it was really painful (like someone trying to force a skewer or knitting needle into the extraction hole). I was eating normally after a week and still had stitches in. Although surely with roasties you have them soaked in gravy so they are softer

I forgot I started this thread and just started another!

So. It's now 16 days since I had my tooth out. The bad breath/taste subsided a few days ago.On Monday, it started to feel a bit tender - not madly painful it anything, just a bit sore if touched. Was no better by yesterday so today I went back what with it being Christmas and all, and not wanting to risk leaving it.

I have dry socket! I have no idea how or why, especially as last Tuesday my usual dentist said it was healing ok. It's been flushed and packed - can't say it's helped with any pain, because it wasn't that painful in the first place (I thought dry socket was supposed to be worse than labour so I was really shocked).

I have a few questions though, if anyone's had any experience of this. Will I need it to be re-packed? Can I eat and drink normally? I'm supposed to be going to a fancy Christmas drinky thing tomorrow (champagne and cocktails), will this be ok in moderation or will bubbles/alcohol affect the wound/dressing? And what about those Christmas Day roast potatoes?!

I honestly can't believe this has happened, I've done everything right and was even told it was healing well last Tuesday. I'm flummoxed as to how I've managed to get dry socket after two weeks. And worried Christmas will be a festival of agony!

I had a tooth extraction on Friday (4 days ago). Still very sore but what concerns me is the gum swelling around tooth next to it! Is this normal?

I had 2 wisdom teeth removed surgically with incisions and stitches. Within 2 weeks I was eating normally. You will definitely be eating normally by Christmas.

Oops sorry just noticed this is a zombie post from last year.

@Sweetberry69

I had a tooth extraction on Friday (4 days ago). Still very sore but what concerns me is the gum swelling around tooth next to it! Is this normal?

Can be. Is it painful? Worth speaking to your dentist as you may have an infection.