What You Can Do to Prevent Dry Socket

What You Can Do to Prevent Dry Socket

Many people take good care of their teeth but for whatever reason may have to have a tooth pulled. While many people just experience discomfort for a brief period following this procedure there are times when it does not go away. If this happens it is likely something called dry socket has occurred.

What is dry socket?

The hole in the bone that a tooth sits in is known as a socket. When a tooth is pulled the socket becomes open.vThe natural response of the body is to create a blood clot so that tissue can eventually grow over and protect that area that once housed the tooth. However, on some occasions the clot does not form or dislodges. This exposes the underlying nerves, tissue, and bone to the environment of your mouth (air, food, water, etc.) and can cause intense pain and even infection.

Dry socket can be identified by its appearance (a dry socket instead of a healthy blood clot where the tooth was pulled from) and its characteristic pain which can at times radiate into the ear. Sometime this happens by chance but dry socket occurs more frequently in individuals who smoke, have poor oral health, use birth control, or have a tooth pulled because it is wisdom tooth. Naturally, one way of reducing your likelihood of getting dry socket is by refraining from smoking and taking better care of your mouth.

What you can do if you get dry socket

If you have dry socket there are few ways you can treat it.

The most common way is over the counter NSAIDs such as aspirin and just wait it out.

Another thing that is advisable is to see your dentist. This will ensure there isn’t an infection and if there is they can give you antibiotics, clean the socket, and place medicine in the socket to promote healing and keep it clean.

Dry socket isn’t considered very common, but is by no means rare and does occur. If you have a tooth pulled and pain begins a few days after the procedure examine your mouth and consult a dentist.