Hi Canmom,

You are very welcome! Thank you for the kind words

Some dentists will use a slow speed drill after the removal of a tooth to mechanically "debride" the socket. However, the socket will still need to be curetted after the use of the drill because there will be all sorts of little pieces stuck to the bone that will need to be scraped away. If a dentist is very thorough during the manual debridement, then a drill is really not necessary unless the dentist thinks he cannot adequately scrape away all of the diseased tissue and bone, then he may go in with the slow speed drill and then manually scrape again after wards.

During a manual debridement of the socket the dentist can feel if he is against mushy tissue or bone compared to clear, solid healthy bone. Not only does it feel differently against the instrument but the color of the blood can be very dark or very scant when the socket is not clean enough as compared to a healthy very rich red color blood high in volume. Sorry to be so descriptive... you may be okay with this while others are hyperventilating while reading it!! :/

I understand how consuming this tooth problem has been for you. You deserve to have it taken care of properly so that it never bothers you again... I agree with that completely!!

Take the notes with you to the OS. Gently but assertively inform him that you expect XXX to be done because you do not want to have to deal with any residual infection or bone issues. Tell him your skepticism stems from your own personal past experiences as well as others who have shared their dental stories with you. Just let him know that you want to be taken care of as if you were a member of his own family... so no pressure... just don't leave any doubt behind.

Regarding your wisdom teeth... many times dentists will recommend their removal because they are in fact too difficult to keep clean. That may sound like an excuse to just make a quick buck but in reality..... some wisdom teeth can cause such infection in the jaw bone due to a build up of bacteria that sometimes it is best to take them out before that occurs. If you were to have a problem with those areas of your mouth due to an incomplete debridement of the sockets after the extractions.... you would most likely have known it by now. A panoramic xray can show those areas and it will tell if the bone has healed well or not.

Please try not to be scared. Be prepared.. feel empowered... and feel positive that you are going to be fine. It would also be good to have a healthy diet of soft foods on hand so that you are able to eat nutritiously without putting too much effort into it.

Bryanna