Dear Bryanna,

I would like to thank you in advance for all of your expertise and reassurance. I've been reading many of the related topics before posting my question. Here it is.

I have undergone quite a complicated wisdom tooth extraction on Friday, 14th February. My 38 was impacted, partially in the bone and in the gum, however not errupted. The roots were pretty deep and one was hook-like. My surgeon had to section it into four parts and it took him about 45 minutes to take it all out, clean and stitch the site. I had massive swelling and felt really uncomfortable, but that was expected. What surprised me was quite an uncomfortable case of sore throat, it was painful for me to swallow.

On Wednesday it felt as if my stitches came undone, so I booked an appointment with another surgeon the same day. She said I had contracted a post-op infection, opened the site, cleaned it and prescribed me doxycycline (one pill twice daily for five days) and metronidazole (3*250mg for seven days), along with syringe to clean the extraction site. She told me I don't have to come for a checkup unless I feel worse.

I have been experiencing mild discomfort similar to irritated gums along left side of my mouth over the weekend, but almost no pain and it gradually subsides. There's no discomfort at present. The extraction site and surrounding gums are not painful, still a bit swollen, but only a very little. My surgeon had to hack quite a bit into my bone so I guess that's expected. I still can't open my mouth fully, but enough to eat and I guess that only needs time.

However I wonder - how do I know the infection is gone? My swelling is down, almost gone, the pain isn't there, the only thing is a bit of dry mouth in the morning, but I presume that's due to the antibiotics (it's listed as a side effect). I brush my teeth regularly and irrigate the hole with the syringe I've been given, along with some local gel to treat the gums. Can I presume as long as there's no pain, everything is healing nicely? I'm worried as I'll be travelling abroad next week and I hope there aren't any nasty surprises in store for me.

Thank you very much for your kind answer!