u/alyksisalive

Hi all, just wanted to share what my experience was like and ask some advice on what to expect in the next few weeks. I am almost one month post extraction of my lower wisdom tooth and my timeline has looked like this:

Day 0/1: Extraction easy. I am in the UK and I was sedated so time went super fast. Dentist said it was a good extraction.

Day 2/3: I was absolutely vigilant about all the rules not to get a dry socket. Nothing too hot or cold, no straws, gentle salt water rinses after 2 days, no spitting etc. Unfortunately I did not eat enough for the amount of painkillers I was taking (ibuprofen and paracetamol consistently) and on the night of day 3/morning of day 4 I had a high fever and vomited. I think this is when I dislodged the blood clot.

Day 4: I was miserable, in pain, not sleeping. It felt like a deep ache and also burning. I checked this thread to see if it was dry socket but everyone on here was saying 'if it was dry socket you would know' etc., so I assumed it wasn't because the way people were talking about it being worse than childbirth felt extreme. Painkillers continued to help take the edge off but I would have to be on them consistently and I was sleeping like 3 hours a night because of them wearing off.

Day 5: I convinced myself it must be an infection so called up my dentist. They saw me and said it was a classic dry socket. They did not apply a medicated dressing, clove oil, give me extra pain relief or anything 'because I'm young and will heal'. Give it two weeks he said. Obviously I was pretty upset.

Days 6-9: I was exhausted and in pain but at least I knew now it was dry socket, and could stop being paranoid about dry socket... It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had, but slowly, slowly, the pain started to ease. By day 9 I turned a corner and was only taking painkillers every 6 hours or so, it felt worlds better than it had been.

Days 10-17: Once the pain had pretty much gone and it was just the hole remaining it was like I had a new lease on life. It was incredible. I continued being careful with food but started drinking alcohol again with no issue. Continued with salt water rinses (was not given a syringe) and settled in to wait for the hole to fill.

Day 18: Felt irritation in site. Went to dentist who found a bit of food debris in there. Used a sharp metal tool to scrape it out which was hell and made me bleed a ton. Dental assistant didn't even know how to turn on the suction. 1/10 dentist experience.

Day 19-23: Hole felt large still. I knew I was on a delayed healing timeline because of the dry socket but was losing hope. Just wanted this to be over and progress felt so slow.

Day 24: Almost overnight this fleshy pink mound sprouted up and filled the hole. Super weird, unattached to any gum on either side.

Day 25 - now: This fleshy mound has now spread out and attached on two sides of my gum filling the hole. It is not attached on the cheek side and still feels a bit delicate and moveable. I am now just waiting for the last of it to attach and firm up, although apparently this can take another couple of weeks or a month.

CONCLUSION:

- Dry socket will not kill you, but it does suck, and will set your recovery back a good while.

QUESTION:

- I am still chewing on the other side, still salt water rinsing. Has anyone else with delayed dry socket healing experienced such a delay, and when did your gum truly smooth out?

It is day 6 since I had my tooth extracted. The pain has not eased so today I went to the dentist and he confirmed I have dry socket. I thought it was maybe just an infection, as although the pain has been horrible it has been manageable with paracetemol and ibuprofen, which lots of people on here said it wouldn't be. I also felt like I was doing everything right.

Anyway, the dentist flushed the site with saline but did not pack it. Has anyone else had experience healing from dry socket without this packing? What did your pain timeline look like? When will this be over?

Hi everyone. I just need someone to tell me when it will be normal again and this will all be over. I am 48hrs since my bottom left was out and I have a huge and really deep extraction site. I know lots of people on here have had 3 or 4 teeth out so comparatively I am better off, but I just can't hack it. I thought it would be a few days of bad and then it would be better, but people on here say it takes weeks or months for deep holes to close up, that they are getting infections after weeks, that food gets stuck endlessly. There just doesn't feel like an end in sight.

I am so paranoid all of the time. Is the socket too deep, is the blood clot still there, will I get food stuck. I am in the UK and wasnt given a syringe or prescribed a mouth wash or anything, so then I stress about whether to get one or not. I can't bring myself to eat or drink anything besides water because I'm so worried. The anxiety is taking a massive toll on me but also my partner who is trying their best to make me things I just can't have.

I just need someone to tell me it is not actually going to be like this for weeks or months.

Hi all. Looking for some reassurance and advice. I had my bottom left wisdom tooth removed about four hours ago and they managed to remove it whole. No stitches. It is very painful right now after taking paracetemol and ibuprofen but imagine this is normal.

My question is that I can see small white bits at the extraction site. I know white bits can mean it is healing after the first few days, but four hours after extraction seems wrong. What could it be? I'm really really worried.