Tooth extraction, still hurts!
Discussion
Morning all...
After a bit of shared experience here as I'm sure I'm just being a baby.
Had a broken premolar (top, third from front) pulled last saturday, first time I've had an extraction. All went fine, came out in one go etc. A week on I'm still getting some throbbing and discomfort, soreness of the gums etc. I've read plenty that seems to suggest it should only last a few days before it wears off, but currently I'm still popping tablets a few times a day (it isn't agony by any means, but it's sufficiently irritating to put me in a bad mood!) to keep it in check, and I find myself eating using the other side of my mouth, which is crap.
How long do I leave it before I go and whinge at the dentist?! (I had to go private, so it wasn't an NHS hatchet job!)
After a bit of shared experience here as I'm sure I'm just being a baby.
Had a broken premolar (top, third from front) pulled last saturday, first time I've had an extraction. All went fine, came out in one go etc. A week on I'm still getting some throbbing and discomfort, soreness of the gums etc. I've read plenty that seems to suggest it should only last a few days before it wears off, but currently I'm still popping tablets a few times a day (it isn't agony by any means, but it's sufficiently irritating to put me in a bad mood!) to keep it in check, and I find myself eating using the other side of my mouth, which is crap.
How long do I leave it before I go and whinge at the dentist?! (I had to go private, so it wasn't an NHS hatchet job!)
It depends how quickly you normally heal. A tooth extraction leaves quite a large wound. Imagine having your finger nail removed, how long would you expect that to take before it stopped hurting?
I'd say you're doing OK. Another week at least before you can eat that side. What's it like with ice cream/ice?
I'm not a dentist though!
I'd say you're doing OK. Another week at least before you can eat that side. What's it like with ice cream/ice?
I'm not a dentist though!
Yeah that's a pretty good point, it's a deep old hole!
I discovered that there's a thing called 'dry socket', where the blood clot over the wound either goes walkabouts or doesn't form, and it isn't that, so that's a good start!
Ice cream etc helps, although less so now than it did a week ago! I think you're probably right and I'll just have to crack on and let it do its thing, I don't like popping painkillers several times a day but it is what it is I guess.
I don't mind the dentist, never have done, but I'll admit I was mildly horrified at the brutality of having one taken out
Not sure how I was expecting it to be, really!
I discovered that there's a thing called 'dry socket', where the blood clot over the wound either goes walkabouts or doesn't form, and it isn't that, so that's a good start!
Ice cream etc helps, although less so now than it did a week ago! I think you're probably right and I'll just have to crack on and let it do its thing, I don't like popping painkillers several times a day but it is what it is I guess.
I don't mind the dentist, never have done, but I'll admit I was mildly horrified at the brutality of having one taken out
Not sure how I was expecting it to be, really! You have had a part of your body amputated. It will hurt for a while. There are too many variables to pinpoint exactly why it is still hurting eg. your pain threshold, your healing capacity, whether there was infection present when the tooth was extracted, how much force had to be applied to the adjacent bone in order to extract it, how well you've followed the post-op instructions, the cleanliness of adjacent teeth, whether food has trapped in the socket, excessive spitting/rinsing, potentially Vit D levels in your blood, the list goes on and on...
But I would say stop being a big girl LOL
On a separate note, it is always something to remember that we as dentists only ever use the necessary amount of force to perform a procedure. Whether that is scaling teeth or performing an extraction, a certain threshold of force needs to be applied before the desired result is achieved (releasing a tooth for example). We have no desire or need to be "heavy handed" or cause unnecessary pain, who does that help?? Contrary to popular belief we don't revel in inflicting pain. When you jump during treatment, we jump. There is nothing worse than a patient on edge ready to jolt and scream whilst we're trying to do a delicate procedure. Anyway can you tell I'm sat at the barbers with nothing better to do LOL
But I would say stop being a big girl LOL
On a separate note, it is always something to remember that we as dentists only ever use the necessary amount of force to perform a procedure. Whether that is scaling teeth or performing an extraction, a certain threshold of force needs to be applied before the desired result is achieved (releasing a tooth for example). We have no desire or need to be "heavy handed" or cause unnecessary pain, who does that help?? Contrary to popular belief we don't revel in inflicting pain. When you jump during treatment, we jump. There is nothing worse than a patient on edge ready to jolt and scream whilst we're trying to do a delicate procedure. Anyway can you tell I'm sat at the barbers with nothing better to do LOL
cringle said:
You have had a part of your body amputated. It will hurt for a while. There are too many variables to pinpoint exactly why it is still hurting eg. your pain threshold, your healing capacity, whether there was infection present when the tooth was extracted, how much force had to be applied to the adjacent bone in order to extract it, how well you've followed the post-op instructions, the cleanliness of adjacent teeth, whether food has trapped in the socket, excessive spitting/rinsing, potentially Vit D levels in your blood, the list goes on and on...
But I would say stop being a big girl LOL
On a separate note, it is always something to remember that we as dentists only ever use the necessary amount of force to perform a procedure. Whether that is scaling teeth or performing an extraction, a certain threshold of force needs to be applied before the desired result is achieved (releasing a tooth for example). We have no desire or need to be "heavy handed" or cause unnecessary pain, who does that help?? Contrary to popular belief we don't revel in inflicting pain. When you jump during treatment, we jump. There is nothing worse than a patient on edge ready to jolt and scream whilst we're trying to do a delicate procedure. Anyway can you tell I'm sat at the barbers with nothing better to do LOL
But I would say stop being a big girl LOL
On a separate note, it is always something to remember that we as dentists only ever use the necessary amount of force to perform a procedure. Whether that is scaling teeth or performing an extraction, a certain threshold of force needs to be applied before the desired result is achieved (releasing a tooth for example). We have no desire or need to be "heavy handed" or cause unnecessary pain, who does that help?? Contrary to popular belief we don't revel in inflicting pain. When you jump during treatment, we jump. There is nothing worse than a patient on edge ready to jolt and scream whilst we're trying to do a delicate procedure. Anyway can you tell I'm sat at the barbers with nothing better to do LOL
I think that's a pretty reasonable summary!!It seemed to flair up last night, hence my posting here. Thankfully it's calmed down again now/I've manned up
What cringle said.
A dry socket will be quite sore and worse than you describe. Good old warm salt water washes 2-3 times a day should help but it seems normal healing to me. Some people heal faster than others. Do you have any previous history of smoking? That can make healing slower due to less blood supply to the wound. In a few days if it feels it’s getting worse then it may be a dry socket. Unlikely as it’s normally obvious by days 5-7.
Hang on you are almost there.
A dry socket will be quite sore and worse than you describe. Good old warm salt water washes 2-3 times a day should help but it seems normal healing to me. Some people heal faster than others. Do you have any previous history of smoking? That can make healing slower due to less blood supply to the wound. In a few days if it feels it’s getting worse then it may be a dry socket. Unlikely as it’s normally obvious by days 5-7.
Hang on you are almost there.
CrgT16 said:
What cringle said.
A dry socket will be quite sore and worse than you describe. Good old warm salt water washes 2-3 times a day should help but it seems normal healing to me. Some people heal faster than others. Do you have any previous history of smoking? That can make healing slower due to less blood supply to the wound. In a few days if it feels it’s getting worse then it may be a dry socket. Unlikely as it’s normally obvious by days 5-7.
Hang on you are almost there.
I hope so! A dry socket will be quite sore and worse than you describe. Good old warm salt water washes 2-3 times a day should help but it seems normal healing to me. Some people heal faster than others. Do you have any previous history of smoking? That can make healing slower due to less blood supply to the wound. In a few days if it feels it’s getting worse then it may be a dry socket. Unlikely as it’s normally obvious by days 5-7.
Hang on you are almost there.
Never smoked, quite surprising how much worse it makes things by all accounts!
Had a pair of wisdom teeth out under general, apparently a small amount of jaw bone was removed and one tooth came out in many pieces.
that resulted in dry socket, even with as much codeine as I was allowed to take I was still in tears at the hours and indeed days of agony.
Dentist packed the socket with clove tasting stuff that looked like tobacco that helped hugely.
It was a while back but I recall months of discomfort, part down to food getting lodged in my gaping hole.
that resulted in dry socket, even with as much codeine as I was allowed to take I was still in tears at the hours and indeed days of agony.
Dentist packed the socket with clove tasting stuff that looked like tobacco that helped hugely.
It was a while back but I recall months of discomfort, part down to food getting lodged in my gaping hole.
I had an extraction and it was a few months before it settled down. I had a number of small bone fragments that gradually worked their way out of the socket and up to the surface of the gum. The fragments were not straight and smooth but knobbly and twisted and each time I had to yank them out so it made a mess and caused bleeding. The bone fragments felt massive when in my mouth but in reality they were tiny.
Actual said:
I had an extraction and it was a few months before it settled down. I had a number of small bone fragments that gradually worked their way out of the socket and up to the surface of the gum. The fragments were not straight and smooth but knobbly and twisted and each time I had to yank them out so it made a mess and caused bleeding. The bone fragments felt massive when in my mouth but in reality they were tiny.
Gruesome! Did the dentist tell you to expect this when he did the deed?Actual said:
I had an extraction and it was a few months before it settled down. I had a number of small bone fragments that gradually worked their way out of the socket and up to the surface of the gum. The fragments were not straight and smooth but knobbly and twisted and each time I had to yank them out so it made a mess and caused bleeding. The bone fragments felt massive when in my mouth but in reality they were tiny.
I had this with a big fish tailed tooth that had to come out. After 11 mins of furious tugging - including his food on the bottom of the chair for leverage at one point it came out.
He said afterwards that it would’ve been better to refer me to have it out elsewhere.
For a month or so, periodically I could feel sharp bits in the socket as it was healing, they felt massive but a look in the bathroom mirror and a pair of tweezers pulled the fragments out easily. No pain at all, they just slid out.
Very odd. I got to keep the tooth - big f
ker!Weird.
I've had a couple of teeth out. The latter one required at least 20 minutes of yanking from all angles at my skull before it gave in. The dentist had to stop for a rest halfway through.
Other than a faint throb for a few hours after the gear wore off, I felt nothing at all. I guess my mouth must be dead.
I've had a couple of teeth out. The latter one required at least 20 minutes of yanking from all angles at my skull before it gave in. The dentist had to stop for a rest halfway through.
Other than a faint throb for a few hours after the gear wore off, I felt nothing at all. I guess my mouth must be dead.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I had one too! It’s quite extraordinary and impossible to get across how frighteningly awful it is for weeks. And there’s not a lot they can do about it, either. They reckon in the top 3 of pain in the whole of medical knowledge. Your analogy to some may seem overzealous, but it truly is that bad!
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff