Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Questions Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

ā€œDry socket?ā€

What am l supposed to do if l notice a dry socket l have been smoking since the day l extracted my tooth?

Female | 38 years old
Conditions: Sinusitis

6 Answers

Schedule a visit with your dentist for treatment
Go back to the dentist. He can dress it and make it feel better.
You should discontinue smoking and contact your doctor who extracted your tooth, who can determine the best way to heal your dry socket.
Call the dentist that extracted the tooth and have them take a look at it
The sucking motion from smoking can dislodge the blood clot that is forming in the extraction site...as it is quite fragile for the 1st three days after the extraction. We recommend not smoking or even drinking through a straw to avoid losing the clot, but if you do lose the clot and you get an infection of the bone (dry socket), then you can go back to the dentist and have the socket cleaned out and soothing medication is placed in the site. You usually have to repeat that treatment over several days.
Iā€™m sorry to hear that you have a dry socket. It can be a longer more painful experience but luckily even dry sockets will still heal. The best things you can do once you have a dry socket is to have a dentist place a dressing in the wound and try to reduce or eliminate smoking to promote healing. -Dr. Bishop