Having a tooth extraction is an indelible experience on its own. However, if you put tooth extraction complications in the mix like a dry socket, recovery will also be challenging. A dry socket may happen after removing a permanent adult tooth, like your wisdom tooth.
After the extraction, a blood clot forms over the open wound, and this clot covers and protects the exposed bone and nerves. However, sometimes the clot may not develop or gets dislodged, the wound is bare again. This leads to excruciating pain that often strikes after surgery three days. With an idea of what a dry socket is, let’s jump into the rabbit hole and discuss more about it.
What May Cause A Dry Socket?
Knowing the cause paves a path to targeted prevention. However, we don’t know a definitive reason for the dry socket. Still, researchers speculate that the following may prevent blood clotting and lead to the development of a dry socket:
- A bacterial infection of the site.
- Trauma to the area. This can happen due to complicated surgery, or improper health care, like accidentally poking the spot with a toothbrush.
What Are Symptoms Of A Dry Socket?
Dry socket won’t slip away unnoticed; you will know you have a problem of a dry socket through these telltale signs:
- Severe pain within a few days after the extraction.
- You can see the exposed bone at the extraction site.
- Radiating pain may reach the end of your ears or neck on the same side of your face as the extraction.
- Foul breath
- Unpleasant Taste.
Risk Factor For Dry Socket:
Smoking: Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that may slow down healing and promote bacterial infections at the wound site. Moreover, the act of inhaling the smoke can dislodge the premature blood clot.
Oral Contraceptives: Oral contraceptives contain a high estrogen level for birth control. However, this amped-up concentration of estrogen in the body may disrupt the normal healing process, putting you at risk of developing a dry socket.
Improper Home Care: Failure to follow your dentist’s oral care guidance after extraction can lead to the development of a dry socket.
Having A History Of Dry Sockets: Have you suffered from dry sockets in the past? If so, you are at a higher risk of developing a dry socket, so you should take necessary precautions to avoid such complications.
Prevention:
You can prevent dry socket from happening in the first place through the following steps:
- Stop the use of tobacco and cigarettes during the wisdom tooth extraction and the initial recovery period.
- Please inform your doctor about any medications you are on, so they may identify any prescribed medicine that can interfere with blood clot formation.
- Follow your dentist’s oral care guidelines religiously during the recovery period.
Find a dentist who has experience with tooth extraction procedures, so they are there to guide you along with the procedure and during the recovery. You can opt for Bayside Dental to treat all your oral care problems. You can ring us at 979-330-4113 to learn more about how we can help.