Diagnosis
Severe pain following tooth removal is often enough for your dentist or oral surgeon to suspect dry socket. You'll likely be asked if you have any other symptoms. Your dentist or oral surgeon can check your mouth to see if you have a blood clot in your tooth socket or if you have lost the clot and have exposed bone.
You may need X-rays of your mouth and teeth to rule out other conditions, such as a bone infection. The X-rays also can show if you have small pieces of tooth root or bone remaining in the site after surgery.
Treatment
Treatment of dry socket focuses on reducing symptoms, especially pain. Treatment may include:
- Flushing out the socket. Your dentist or oral surgeon may flush out the socket to remove any food bits or other loose materials that may add to pain or possible infection.
- Dressing with medicine. Your dentist or oral surgeon may pack the socket with medicated gel or paste and a dressing. These can provide quick pain relief. Whether you need dressing changes and how often and whether you need other treatment depends on how severe your pain and other symptoms are.
- Pain medicine. Ask which pain medicine is best for you. You'll likely need a prescription pain medicine.
- Self-care. Once your dentist or oral surgeon takes out the dressing, you may need to flush the socket at home to keep it clean and improve healing. Your dentist or oral surgeon can give you instructions. You may get a plastic syringe with a curved tip to squirt water, salt water or a prescription rinse into the socket.
Once treatment starts, you may begin to feel some pain relief. Pain and other symptoms should continue to improve and will likely be gone within a few days. Even when you're feeling better, keep scheduled appointments with your dentist or oral surgeon for dressing changes and other care.
Lifestyle and home remedies
You can help promote healing and reduce symptoms during treatment of dry socket by following instructions for self-care. You'll likely be told to:
- Take pain medicines as prescribed.
- Do not smoke or use tobacco products.
- Drink plenty of clear liquids. This also may prevent nausea caused by some pain medicines.
- Rinse your mouth gently with warm salt water several times a day.
- Brush your teeth gently around the dry socket area.
- Be careful with eating or drinking. To prevent the clot from coming out, avoid carbonated beverages and do not use a straw.
Preparing for your appointment
See your dentist or oral surgeon as soon as possible if you have new pain or pain that gets worse after a tooth removal.
What you can do
To get ready for your appointment, make a list of:
- Any symptoms you have, including any that may not seem to be related to the reason for your appointment.
- Key personal information, such as any medical conditions you have.
- All medicines you take, including vitamins, herbs or other supplements, and the doses.
- Questions to ask your dentist or oral surgeon to make the most of your time together.
Some questions to ask may include:
- What are the likely causes of my pain?
- Do I need any tests?
- What type of treatment will I need to improve my symptoms?
- What can I take for the pain?
- Is there a generic option to the medicine you're prescribing?
- How soon will I feel better?
- How long should I wait to eat or drink after this treatment?
- Are there any restrictions I need to follow?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can have?
- Are there any websites you recommend?
Feel free to ask other questions during your appointment.
What to expect from your doctor
Your dentist or oral surgeon is likely to ask you these questions:
- When did the severe pain begin?
- Does the pain occur on its own? Or does it happen when you drink or touch the area?
- How would you rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most severe?
- Where do you feel the pain?
- Have you taken pain medicine? How much and how often?
- Has the pain medicine helped?
- Do you have any other symptoms that may not seem to be related to your dental pain?
- Have you had a fever?
Be ready to answer questions so that you'll have time to talk about what's most important to you.
FAQs
Dry socket is a painful condition that can occur after tooth extraction. It happens when the blood clot that covers your wound becomes dislodged or doesn't fully form. Dry socket treatments include pain relievers and placing medicated gauze over the affected area. Dry sockets usually last about one week.
How do you diagnose dry socket? ›
Symptoms of dry socket may include:
- Severe pain within a few days after removing a tooth.
- Loss of part or all of the blood clot at the tooth removal site. ...
- Bone that you can see in the socket.
- Pain that spreads from the socket to your ear, eye, temple or neck on the same side of your face as the tooth removal.
Lifestyle and home remedies
- Take pain medicines as prescribed.
- Do not smoke or use tobacco products.
- Drink plenty of clear liquids. ...
- Rinse your mouth gently with warm salt water several times a day.
- Brush your teeth gently around the dry socket area.
- Be careful with eating or drinking.
A dry socket is a temporary condition, and most of the time, it will go away on its own. It rarely leads to any severe complications, and it will be treated with proper care and treatment. An average amount of pain, discomfort, swelling, and tenderness is not to concern you.
How long until dry socket risk is gone? ›
Can a person get a dry socket after a week? Most cases of dry socket occur within roughly 3–5 days after surgery, and the risk of dry socket decreases over time. However, the risk of a dry socket is still present until the socket fully heals, which may take 7–10 days.
What can be mistaken for a dry socket? ›
Alveolar osteitis, often confused with dry socket, is another potential cause of throbbing pain. It occurs when the blood clot dislodges, exposing the underlying bone. Unlike dry socket, alveolar osteitis tends to develop a few days after the extraction and is associated with severe pain.
What do dentists prescribe for dry socket? ›
What is the best medication for dry socket?
| Best Medications for Dry Socket | | |
|---|
| Tylenol (acetaminophen) | Analgesic | Oral |
| SaliCept Oral Patch (hydrogel) | Hydrogel dressing | Topical |
| Sultan Dry Socket Paste (guaiacol & eugenol) | Paste dressing | Topical |
| Xylocaine Viscous (lidocaine viscous) | Local anesthetic | Topical |
4 more rowsAug 7, 2020
Using warm salt water to rinse your mouth is one of the best dry socket treatments at home. This can facilitate blood clotting and assist in getting rid of any food particles that might be irritating your dry socket. Make sure you're using warm water instead of hot, as the latter may aggravate your wound even more.
What is the best painkiller for dry socket? ›
What Is the Best Pain Medicine to Take After Wisdom Teeth Removal or Dry Socket?
- Morphine: 2.9.
- Percocet (oxycodone/Tylenol): 2.6.
- Torodol oral: 2.6.
- Ibuprofen alone: 2.4.
- Two Alleve (naproxen sodium): 2.3.
- Ketorolac IM: 1.8.
- 100mg Ketoprofen: 1.6.
- Advil (ibuprofen) and Tylenol: 1.6.
If you have dry socket you may have: severe persistent, throbbing pain within 1 to 5 days of the tooth extraction — the pain may extend to your ear or eye on the same side of the face. bad breath. a slight fever.
Q: Does salt water prevent dry socket? Yes, salt water can help prevent dry socket. Rinsing your mouth with a saltwater solution several times a day after an extraction can be beneficial to the healing process. Saltwater helps to reduce swelling and irritation while also providing antibacterial benefits.
Does dry socket ever close? ›
With proper care, a dry socket usually heals in seven to 10 days. In that time, new tissue grows and covers the exposed socket. Regular brushing and flossing help keep your mouth healthy and reduce your risk of infection.
Do antibiotics help dry socket? ›
Share on Pinterest A dentist can prescribe antibiotics to help prevent dry socket. Some research suggests that antibiotics significantly reduce the risk of a dry socket in molar extractions. However, the use of antibiotics as a preventive measure is controversial.
What is the highest risk day for dry socket? ›
The highest risk for this condition is between days 2-3 after tooth extraction. After day 4, the risk of dry socket is passed.
When can I stop being scared of dry socket? ›
As a general rule of thumb, once you make it past 1-2 weeks after your tooth extraction, you are no longer at risk of developing a dry socket. After 14 days, you can stop worrying about a dry socket and eat whatever you want.
Should I still have pain 5 days after tooth extraction? ›
After having a tooth extracted - especially molars - you may feel some pain and discomfort for around 3-7 days after it has been removed. However, if you still have intense pain near the area immediately after 5 days, book an appointment to see your dentist.
How can you tell the difference between dry socket and normal pain? ›
Dry sockets become increasingly painful in the days after a tooth extraction. They may also have exposed bone or tissue, or an unpleasant smell. By comparison, normal healing sockets get less painful over time and do not cause any other symptoms. A dry socket can be very painful, but it is not usually serious.
What does the start of a dry socket look like? ›
If you can visibly see your extraction site, you may see a few visible signs if you have a dry socket. A healthy socket will be a hole with a noticeable blot clot in the center. If your socket appears white in color, chances are you are seeing exposed bone and have lost the blood clot.
Can you tell as soon as you get a dry socket? ›
Dry socket normally occurs two to three days after you've had a tooth extracted. If you have dry socket, you will know immediately (there will be no guessing).
Can you have a partial dry socket? ›
A dry socket can either be partial or complete, that is, only a portion of the blood clot is destroyed or the entire blood clot is affected. The pain often will radiate to the ear and is caused by exposed bone that is not covered by a clot or new tissue. A dry socket is neither an infection or an ear problem.
