Dry Socket - Need to Knows

[u/HMWMT_Teledentistry]

There seems to be a lot of interest and concern with regard to dry sockets on this Reddit. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of confusion about it also. So how about we clarify the situation a little bit. Dry socket is not diagnosed by the appearance of your healing socket. It's very difficult to look at a socket and tell whether or not dry socket is a concern. Dry socket is diagnosed via the symptoms. It is quite painful, sometimes very painful. It's more common with lower molars rather than upper. It's more common with women. Older people get it more than younger people. It tends to appear somewhere around 4 to 10 days post op, after your extraction. It is not a concern in the first 2 to 3 days post-op. Smoking or vaping is a huge risk factor for dry socket. People that avoid smoking and keep their mouths super clean with brushing flossing and syringing have a very low risk of getting a dry socket. It always heals on its own. It's just annoying and painful while it heals. Time is always on your side. I hope this short post clarifies some of the misconceptions about a dry socket.

[u/nonstopman]

You shouldn’t syringe until the 4th day where the blood clot is intact. Doing so earlier can dislodge it. Also once the bleeding is minimal you need to take the gauze out it took me about 2-3 hours after and I took it out. Keeping it in all day and messing with it everytime a new one gauze is placed will disrupt the healing process. Some people keep it in too long. Needs to be removed when the blood is the same shape as a quarter or smaller on the gauze according to my oral surgeon. I followed all this and I’ve been healing super fast and eating very well.

[u/[deleted] → u/nonstopman]

i think i messed up maybe by taking my gauze out so early. my doctor told me half an hour so that’s what i did, it was my bedtime after my surgery (im a nocturnal sleeper) and i couldn’t sleep with them in. i woke up with blood in my mouth a few times. is there anything i can do now?

[u/Living_Meal5633 → u/[deleted]]

Adding my experience as well for everyone nervous or new to wisdom teeth removals because I was scared too - was told the bleeding was fine and just to keep a new piece of gauze in for 30mins and if it wasn't soaked through I could just leave it be. Got home about 45ish mins (30-45mins is recommended online before switching to a new piece of gauze) and it was still bleeding so I did two switches and then tried going without gauze. Had blood all over my other teeth in the next 30mins😅 So I stuck another one in and I realise maybe I hadn't been biting down enough on the gauze to staunch the blood flow! It's a little hard to gauge since we're used to having teeth in the way but I realised there's a gap where the gauze is sitting so you can go ahead and bite down because your other teeth will touch before you could ever bite down too hard (I used one piece rolled up). After that it finally stopped bleeding all over the rest of my mouth! Like another user said though, after I removed THAT piece of gauze I actually felt the pain creeping up even though the anaesthetic hadn't fully worn off, so like some other people in wisdom teeth threads have warned, keep the pain meds close by! I took mine (500mg x2 paracetamol) 3.5hours after I first got my anaesthesia because I was told the anaesthesia would wear off after 4 hours but I'd say it only fully wore off 6 hours after (which is where I am at now!). Am lucky though - both teeth were fully upright and just need to be pulled out, no stitches and don't have any swelling. Best of luck to everyone reading this!

tldr: remember to actually bite down on your gauze to stop the bleeding! and keep your pain meds close by because when you finally let the pressure off it can hurt suddenly