Dry socket - will it get me?

[TotHappy]

I had a tooth extracted 9 days ago. Fretted hugely about dry socket and kept monitoring it etc. It soon developed whitish gunky stuff on top which I took to be granulation tissue. At about day 5 started to feel better and less sore but then started getting worse again. Pain was fully controllable with ibuprofen and mostly in surrounding gums rather than socket. Then the white accumulated layer fell off while brushing my teeth. Underneath looked a kind of murky black, definitely couldn't see bone. But I was alarmed that it had fallen off and thought with pain getting worse it might be an infection so rang the dentist.

Saw her this morning. She numbed me with injections (somewhat roughly) and cleaned it out which bloody hurt. Afterwards I asked if it had been dry socket and she said yes but 'the dressing was still there' (no idea what dressing) and kind of shrugged like who knows why it happens?
She said she had cleaned and roughed it up so it would bleed and a new clot would form. She also prescribed 5 days of amoxycillin but told me to stop after 3 if it felt better.

Left feeling a whole lot worse than I had before. Once the numbness wore off after about 5 hours, tried to carefully eat on the other side as I was starving. The clot had only looked tiny before, but it had definitely gone after food. What I see now looks like the classic pics of dry socket. But I'm in the same pain, controlled with ibuprofen.

Everyone online says dry socket makes you want to rip your own face off. Should I preempt by trying to go back to the dentist tomorrow? Or if she was right, and it was dry socket I had before, maybe this time will be no worse than that? Maybe the nerve in that bit of bone is dead?!

YABU - you'll probably be fine, take the ibuprofen and antibiotics
YANBU - you'll be ripping your face off by this time tomorrow

I had a dry socket a few years ago after a tooth extraction and I was the worst pain. It was horrific. Could not be controlled with even tramadol or codeine. The pain had me in tears. If you had a dry socket you would deffo know about it. Keep taking the ibruprofen and paracetamol, alternate then every two hours to keep topped up but if your not screaming in pain by tomorrow and ready to jump off a cliff then I'd say you are fine!

Oh no! I hope you haven't got dry socket. I'm having my first extraction tomorrow and I'm so nervous
I hope you feel better soon OP

You're day 10 tomorrow so it should be naturally growing over. By day 10 my dry sockets have always been manageable. Its only up to 14 days max. Clove oil was the biggest help.

Once the antibiotics kick in too, that should help, I would not stop taking them though you are supposed to finish any course given to you. X
Clove oil and alternate tablets should help too. X

I have it and it's still bad 14 days after the extraction. Absolute agony. I've only been taking ibuprofen and paracetamol because I have 2 small kids and the codeine was knocking me about. It's a nightmare.

I’ve had dry socket twice because I don’t seem to clot very well. It was painful but actually not unbearable if I’m honest, but I do have a strange pain tolerance and don’t seem to feel things the way other people do.
I had to go to the dentist a few times to have the hole packed.The packing would come out and everything would taste of clove oil and I’d have to go back again.

Id think by day 10 your chances of getting it are slim.

@Urgenthelplease you need to get it packed.

I would never stop a course of antibiotics and her advice on this feels a bit outdated.

I was also terrified.of dry socket following extraction. The online info doesn't help as you're endlessly comparing your mouth (that you can't see very well) to pictures that you also can't see very well.

Have you been salt mouthwashing. After my last extraction (veteran sadly) I was using a recommended mouthwash for extractions but I had a nasty taste and I was worried it was infected. I went back to the dentist and she suggested swapping to salt mouthwash after food and morning and night and it did seem to speed up the healing and took the taste away.

Hope it continues to improve

You need to finish the course of antibiotics. Does your dentist close over Christmas? If you’re not in too much pain and you’re on day 10 I’d say your risk of serious dry socket is minimal but you may want to see if you can get another prescription for antibiotic cover over Xmas. Sometimes one course isn’t enough.

I’ve had dry socket 3 times, I get antibiotics now if I need an extraction to pre empt it.
It’s excruciating pain, the relief when the dentist dresses it is such a relief.

When I had dry socket I was in agony, taking paracetamol, ibuprofen and codeine and it wasn’t touching the pain.

I've used warm salt water rinses after eating anything as it seems to calm it and lift anything trapped out of the hole, mine was removed two weeks ago today.
It still feels slightly sore, there's still a big hole (molar) but it is closing up slowly. Up until day 10 I was taking regular ibuprofen and paracetamol.

You only need antibiotics if there's an infection. I've had it 3 times and it's never been infected.

I had dry socket and no pain relief I had touched it.

Once I went back to the dentist and had it cleaned and packed with a whatever it was dressing (tasted like cloves) it healed.

I did have a course of antibiotics as well.

Hope your wound heals.

I've had it packed 4 times. It's still got bone exposed.

I had dry socket after a tooth extraction and wanted to shoot myself as the pain was unlike anything I ever felt before (and I spent two weeks in ICU post childbirth!). Nothing touched the pain.

I think at this point past the extraction you’d be unlikely to get it.

@Urgenthelplease oh bless you!! I used to have to have mine packed constantly. Add some clove oil yourself. You must be nearly there now and the pain will switch off. An ice pack will literally numb the area for 20 mins.

So I had dry socket.

with mine it was the smell and taste.
instinctively I knew something wasn’t right. I hadn’t even heard of dry socket but went back they packed it and that sorted it.
if you are concerned go back and asked for it to be packed

Yes, mine didn't pack it. This morning it is v sore but manageable. Same in the night.

To pp saying I'm at day 10 - surely I'm at day 0 again now? She cleaned it all out down to the bone and jabbed around to make it bleed. It bled but only left a tiny clot and that fell out last night. I can see bone now- it's far emptier now than it was 2 days ago before I went.

To those who have had dry socket - did you know socket was empty much before the pain started? I can see it's empty. 100%. Nothing has grown over because whatever had, she cl e are out. How soon does the pain kick in?

Yes, they do close over Christmas- tomorrow is the last chance. That's why I'm wondering if I should ring today and ask her to pack it even though I don't have bad pain.

BTW I did go back to the dentist last Thursday and explained the clot had fallen out. She said there was still a tiny bit of dressing left (news to me) but offered to numb again, scarify again etc. I asked if I could just have the clean and packing so she did that and it felt soooo much better after. I don't think the scarifying was helping. Still on regular ibuprofen and two more days of antibiotics but feel so much better about it. Most of the packing she put it on Thursday is still there. Fingers crossed I don't lose it all before Wednesday.

@Rina66 I hope yours is feeling better!
@FreyafromLondon how was your extraction?
@Urgenthelplease has your socket grown over yet? I really hope you've got some relief. At this time of year with the kids as well - tooth pain is just too much. You've been in my thoughts