Hello,
9 days ago I had my wisdom teeth extracted. I followed some wrong advice from my surgeon by practicing trombone just 7 days later. Yesterday I awoke and found that the bottom two sockets appeared empty, as if they were dry sockets. I went to a dentist yesterday and was prescribed antibiotics. The dentist is fairly sure I don't have dry sockets, but rather the clots have been forced deep into the sockets from the pressure caused by trombone playing. He didn't have any idea how long it would take for the sockets to heal, or if continuing to play trombone would damage the sockets further. Is there any possibility that trombone playing or exciting my heart rate would damage the clots?
Thank you!!

chrisk547,

It is best to see the oral surgeon to evaluate the sockets and to give you his advice on how long you should refrain from playing the trombone. Generally, there is a 2-4 week waiting period before playing a wind instrument or from doing any strenuous exercise that increases the heart rate. The duration of time is dependent upon the individual patient.

It is not wise to take antibiotics if you do not have an infection. Taking them to prevent a dry socket from occurring is not ideal because the medication disrupts the function of the immune system. So if you don't need them, they should not be taken.

The oral surgeon who removed the teeth is the one that you should consult with not any other dentist.

Bryanna

Bryanna,

Thank you for your advice! I went to a different dentist because I moved back to my college town between getting my teeth removed and having the socket complications. Also my oral surgeon told me exercising and playing trombone would be perfectly fine after 48 hours, so I didn't think it'd be worth traveling back to my hometown to hear his advice, though I did call the clinic and was told there wasn't much that could be done.

I've already taken some of the antibiotic prescription -- is it safe to stop taking it even though I've already started? The dentist prescribed amoxicillin just in case he was wrong about the clots being pushed into their sockets (in which case they'd be dry sockets, but they probably aren't because it isn't extremely painful). Surely the clots are formed and somewhat hardened by now (I've worked out extensively without damaging any), so my thinking is I can't do much further damage to them by playing trombone.