Any dentists? Is this dry socket/an infection?

[yetanothertoothproblem]



I had a tooth extracted on Wednesday morning (long story short, mental health problems meant I haven't taken the best care of my teeth and one ultimately needed removing) I've taken care not to use a straw, no smoking, no vigorous rinsing or brushing near it etc. I've been rinsing with warm saltwater after I eat, but it's really painful, throbbing and swollen and painkillers aren't really doing much.
I'm a single parent and don't drive and live miles away from the dentist (and it's the weekend) and I have no childcare so a walk in centre etc is out of the question. Just wondering whether I need to make a dentist appointment on Monday morning or whether this is normal and it will get better on it's own?
Thank you

Forgot to add the picture to the post

I had one out before Xmas and it looked like that while it was healing normally. It was about a week before I could stop taking paracetamol for the pain

When I've had a molar extracted it's hurt badly for a week afterwards. Yours looks clean, not red and you seem to be doing all the right things so just keep looking after it as you are.

Place marking so I can come back with advice from DH who is a dentist

Mine looked like this but wasn't painful. Sorry you're in pain

Was a dental nurse for many years. Looks to be healing nicely - no sign of infection. Tooth extractions can be painful for a.while afterwards x

I've had a few teeth removed, the bottom molar was absolutely the worst for pain afterwards. I think it must be more difficult to remove because I was really sore and swollen for days. Your picture looks good, like it's healing so hopefully the pain will subside in a day or two.

Dental Therapist here. I think you have a dry socket there and would advise you to see a dentist ASAP. If you're registered then there might be an emergency service available tomorrow? I've had them in the past and they are so painful, so I can sympathise :-( You might require a dressing and a course of metronidazole antibiotic. Hope you get sorted soon.

DH: particularly with a lower tooth, it's very normal for it to be painful.
Looking at the picture, I wouldn't be too worried at this point as it looks like normal healing.
Keep up with the warm salt water rinses.

OP, just shown it to my DH who's a very experienced dentist and he said it looks like a dry socket.

No definitely NOT a dry socket - granulation tissue is present.

Thank you for all the replies although I've received confl

Posted too soon! Although I've received conflicting opinions, it's a lot more painful today, my glands are very swollen and it's miserable so I'm going to phone the dentist first thing tomorrow and see if I can get an appointment, at least it will be looked at in person then and they can advise.

You shouldn't be in so much pain by now if it was healing. Fingers crossed you'll get seen. Let us know how it goes.

Are you sure you're a dentist? This is very clearly normal healing after a tooth extraction without a doubt.

Hi! I'm not a dentist but I have had a tooth pulled, and this looks like normal healing to me! It's normal to feel pain after having a tooth pulled of course, if it was a dry socket you'd know. Dry sockets I've heard are more painful than breaking an arm, plus you'd see more of a yellowish bone than the white you see here

It looks normal. I've had several dry sockets, 2 have healed on their own in about 2 weeks. I was prescribed antibiotics for an extraction once about 1 week in, but it took them so long to do the prescription it started healing itself over the weekend. Even with all the pus it still healed naturally, I just took arnica and high dose vit c, along with ice packs and paracetamol.