Any dentists or dental nurses about?

[maryberrysspongecake]

I had a lower molar extracted three days ago, all went fine although took a while to get out. Pain is fine, bit of an ache but been taking paracetamol and codeine and completely fine.

Been saltwater rinsing after meals since 24 hours after as advised.
Just had a look at the tooth site and it’s a completely different colour! It’s kind of creamy white and yellowish under a light (looked gray at first in the bad bathroom light!) with signs of the blood clot at either end and around the edges. There’s also a faint blood-coloured oval outline in the creamy mass. Is this an infection? It’s also sunken slightly and might look a bit smaller than it was (hard to tell it’s a bloody massive crater!)

I have slightly bad breath according to DH but I haven’t rinsed my mouth fully when brushing since I had it done as I was worried about dislodging what was there.

Worried now that the bad breath and strange colour means infection, the sheet they gave me didn’t mention anything like this and I’ve followed everything on the sheet.

Everything I’ve seen says it should look like a a dark red blood clot which it did until today!

I also seem to have got a bit of toothpaste at one end of it (didn’t brush the site but it must have fallen off the brush when I was doing the teeth above) and it hasn’t come out with a saltwater rinse, so I just leave it be?

nhs 111 may help! not sure if they do dental advice but worth a quick call if they do.

Your still on codine after three days?

@slipperywhensparticus mainly ibuprofen now but I take a codeine at night as the extraction was really really long and I get a worse ache when I’m tired. Ibuprofen manages it throughout the day.

I’m mainly concerned about the morning breath and creamy colour of the socket :-/ my dentist is closed for Christmas now and I wasn’t given any out of hours info.

111 says it can help in cases of severe pain but fortunately and touch wood that’s not me at the moment!

Today is the third day of codeine by the way so I will stop taking it tomorrow.

Is there a blot clot in the middle or just bloody bits at the edges? If the blood clot has been dislodged then you might have dry socket, which youre more prone to also because of the prolonged extraction procedure. Id recommend getting it checked to be sure, especially if the pain is still waking you up at night or so bad that you need to still be taking pain relief regularly throughout the day

There was a blood clot there for sure the day I had it done and yesterday then the creamy stuff started at the edges yesterday and today it’s completely covered but I think the blood clot is still underneath? I’m not sure how to tell though. It looks like the creamy stuff formed at one end then spread across it.
When I looked it up I thought it could be granulation tissue as part of the healing? It doesn’t look empty if that makes sense @LittleStepsDaily it looks like the creamy stuff has covered the clot apart from at one end and a bit on the side

Sorry I don’t know if I’m explaining that very well I tried to take a picture but it wouldn’t focus. I thought dry socket would be empty? I was more worried about infection, hadn’t considered that, bloody hope it’s not that with everything closed til next week

Ah ok, could it be food in the hole? Has the pain decreased at all since day 1, or decreased then increased again?
Id be tempted to tell 111 that the pain is worse than it is maybe to get checked, or see if any dentists will be open for emergencies.

If there is a bad odour you need to see an emergency dentist tomorrow. They can clean the socket and add a dressing.

I did get a bit of something in there earlier which has since disappeared so could be but DH reckons I’ve had mild morning breath since I had it done. I’m wondering if it’s my serious light touch with brushing as I have stayed away from that area and the teeth around it completely.

The pain definitely decreased since day 1 and hasn’t increased, it’s remained at a low level soreness and ache. I’ve taken the painkillers back to back as the dentist said as it was a long extraction I might get pain from my jaw but after today I’ll ease off them. It’s woken me in the night when the painkillers have worn off but only as more of an ache that’s irritating rather than the agonising pain I was in before with the tooth and then on the first day after having it done where it was really painful.

Might seem like a silly question but how would I find an emergency dentist? Mine didn’t give me any info and nhs 111 says it’s just for severe pain

I’ve had a couple of teeth out and had the creamy bit both times... pretty sure it’s normal.

You will be left in no doubt if you have dry socket. I’ve had that too (no creamy bit then!) and it literally feels like you’ve been smacked in the face with a baseball bat... never known pain like it.

@ADMum20 so sorry to hear that it sounds truly awful - were there any signs before the pain started or did it just start as soon as you lost the clot?
That’s reassuring about the creamy stuff it looks different colours depending on what light I look in and seems to be trying to cover the whole area. I thought the stressful part was getting the tooth out didn’t think about after!
I’ll try and be a bit more thorough with brushing tomorrow and use some corsodyl mouthwash without swishing and hopefully that will help with the breath issue and mild bad taste

Its granulation tissue OP, it forms on top of the clot to protect it while it heals. Try not to dislodge it, you need it there. You will have slightly bad breath. I always have as well. Scrub your tongue really well, right to the back. I've had quite a few extractions as very crowded teeth and hyperdontia and have always had granulation tissue, its just a stage of healing. If you have dry socket you will know it by the way you are sobbing in agony.

No, no signs before hand... just sudden onset pain that increased in intensity over about 24 hrs (as I recall)

Defo don’t swish mouthwash... just hold it in your mouth.

If you do get dry socket, defo call 111. Dentists can sort out dry socket very quickly and easily (the pain is caused by an exposed nerve and the dentist packs the hole with some paste that tastes like cloves). Complete, instant relief. I love my dentist.

Oh phew that’s what I hoped. Ta!

@ADMum20 ah that’s awful. Just wondered if you had noticed any change in how it looked before the pain kicked in. I’ve been so worried about infection I hadn’t really thought about the other things that could go wrong! It’s the worst time to have dental problems, although actually I suppose first lock down was the worst at least dentists have the PPE now so are still seeing patients

No, although my extractions were right at the back and I found it difficult to open my jaw wide enough to see....

Just be really careful with the clot and I’m sure it’ll be fine. I was rubbish and smoked which they advise you not to do, so no wonder I suffered!