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
Diagnosis includes a dental exam — you many also need an x-ray. Treatment includes pain relief, medicated dressings and sometimes antibiotics.
How do you self diagnose a dry socket? ›
Symptoms
- Severe pain 1 to 3 days after the tooth is pulled.
- Pain that radiates from the socket to your ear, eye, temple, or neck on the same side that your tooth was pulled.
- An empty socket with a missing blood clot.
- Bad taste in your mouth.
- Bad breath or a terrible smell coming from your mouth.
- Slight fever.
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.
What is the treatment of choice in dry socket? ›
The standard treatment for dry socket involves rinsing the socket with an antiseptic and using a medicated dressing that also includes an antimicrobial medication. For vulnerable individuals, dentists will prescribe an antibiotic to prevent infection.
Will dry socket heal untreated? ›
Will a dry socket heal on its own? Yes, in most cases a dry socket will heal on its own. However, because most people experience moderate to severe dry socket pain, seeing your dentist for prompt treatment can help ease discomfort sooner.
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, typical healing sockets become less painful over time and do not cause any other symptoms. A dry socket can be very painful but is not usually serious.
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.
Can I fix my own dry socket? ›
While it is best to see a dentist to treat a dry socket, some home remedies may help manage them. These include clove oil, honey, and salt water. Dry socket happens when a blood clot either does not form properly or falls out after a tooth extraction.
Is a dry socket an emergency? ›
Considered a potential dental emergency due to its increased risk for infection and delayed healing, dry socket requires immediate dental care. Left untreated, it could lead to intense pain and other complications such as bacterial infections.
Does a dry socket hurt immediately? ›
The socket becomes swollen and irritated. It may fill with bits of food, making the pain worse. If you get a dry socket, the pain usually begins 1 to 3 days after the tooth removal. Dry socket is the most common complication following tooth removals, such as the removal of third molars, also called wisdom teeth.
If you see white bone and not a blood clot, call your dentist as quickly as possible. Dry socket can also cause painful infections including a dangerous abscess, any pain or swelling should be considered a sign that something isn't right. Call your dentist as an infection could cause serious health complications.
What antibiotic is good for dry socket? ›
The most commonly used antibiotic for the prevention of postoperative infection after L3M extraction is amoxicillin alone or in combination with clavulanic acid. Other antibiotics are clindamycin, doxycycline, erythromycin, and metronidazole.
What soothes a dry socket? ›
Heat will likely be most beneficial for soothing pain caused by dry socket, though cold can help numb your nerves more efficiently. Test each and see what works best for you. Always use warm instead of hot, and place it against the cheek where you're feeling pain.
When can I stop worrying about a dry socket? ›
For most patients who've had a tooth extracted, that healing should take between seven and ten days. Once the wound has healed, the blood clot from the extraction is no longer required to shield the underlying tissue, and the risk of a dry socket goes away completely.
What painkillers are good for dry socket? ›
Aspirin or ibuprofen can help relieve some pain. Still, you may need a prescription medicine from your dentist or oral surgeon. If you believe the clot over your extraction site has become dislodged, call your dentist.
What is the main cause of dry socket? ›
Dry socket happens when a blood clot at the site where the tooth was removed does not form, comes out or dissolves before the wound has healed.
What is the treatment of dry socket gel? ›
- Placing a chlorhexidine gel directly into the socket immediately after tooth extraction may help to prevent a dry socket. - Chlorhexidine rinses cause some minor adverse (unwanted) effects; chlorhexidine intrasocket gels do not appear to cause adverse effects.
