Hi Laughter,
I am in the dental field and can offer you some information here.
You obviously have had some post op complications following the extraction of both teeth which was attempted to be addressed. However, the initial attempt was unsuccessful and then the lag time until the second debridement was not ideal in that you had obviously developed further granulation tissue. The pain must have been awful!
It sounds like this surgeon is awfully busy and may not be spending enough time with you and he really should be explaining the situation better. It is good that he did the biopsy, hopefully he took a specimen for a bacterial culture so that the proper antibiotic can be prescribed.
It is normal for the site to be sore and tender for a few weeks post op. But the actual pain should be less after the 3rd day post op and continue to decrease thereafter. It is normal to have some facial bruising which will go away in a week or so.
Make sure that the surgeon knows the full extent of the location, duration and type of pain you are experiencing. If it seems like he is not taking this too seriously, then perhaps it would be wise to seek an opinion from a different oral surgeon, one that is not associated with the treating surgeon.
Regarding the clindamycin... it is a very powerful antibiotic. It may or may not be the proper antibiotic for this infection. So hopefully the surgeon had a culture done that will determine what antibiotics are best to treat the bacteria. Clindamycin is one of many antibiotics that has the potential to cause an intestinal infection called Clostridium Difficile or C.diff for short. This is a serious infection and can occur even weeks after you stop the drug. It is not a good idea to be on this for any long term unless it is absolutely necessary. Continue on the probiotic ideally indefinitely as you not only need to retain some healthy bacteria in your gut but you need to replenish what is being killed off by the meds.
Just a note about your 6 month dental visit... if the surgical site of the two extractions was still open at that visit, the hygienist should not have cleaned your teeth. That is not something you would have known, but she should have known better. If that were the case, then the cleaning should have been postponed until the sites were closed.
Regarding what the hygienist saw on an xray at your hygiene visit... it sounds like there is either a bony fragment that may have fractured off of the jaw bone during the extractions which means a piece of splintered bone is lodged in there ... and/or the image on the film could have been a piece of tooth that fractured off and was not removed. Either of those things can cause or contribute to improper healing of the extraction sites and infection. The oral surgeon should not have shrugged this off. He should have evaluated it further and spoke to you about it. The fact that he seem to dismiss it, concerns me because he knows the importance of being thorough with his oral surgery and if he left anything behind, he needs to inform you of that and be diligent in taking care of it.
I think you are trying to be nice and go along with whatever is being done. However, I think it would be wise to be a little bit assertive with the oral surgeon and expect some answers about the delay in healing and question what that image was/is on that xray. It is imperative that the surgical sites be clean of all fragments of the teeth and diseased tissue including the periodontal ligaments and any visibly unhealthy bone. Ask him out right... if he did those things. Anything shy of doing those things is not acceptable and can further the infection.
If the oral surgeon does not have that new xray... get a copy and bring it with you when you see him.
Hope this information helps.
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laughter222
Hello. On Jan. 15, I had teeth #17 & 18 extracted. The molar had fractured under its crown and the other was a horizontally-positioned wisdom tooth; there was some infection brewing between the two teeth as well.
The healing process seemed pretty much uneventful; I wound up with a dry socket, had it packed twice and the oral surgeon commented that things were healing up nicely. However, pain that I had attributed to the dry socket began to increase; after a few days of waiting for it to resolve and taking the prescribed meds for pain, I went back in to see the oral surgeon.
He examined the area and explained that the "tissue wasn't healing correctly" over the extraction area. The only lay person way to describe the tissue was that it was blob-like and it looked as if it was rebelling against what it was expected to do naturally. The surgeon said he needed to open the area, debride it and then take biopsies; due to his busy practice, the first appointment that he could get me in was a full week out.
I counted down each day with anticipation---I was so uncomfortable and in such freaking pain. On the day of the surgery, I looked at the area one last time, and noticed that the area had grown more since the surgeon had examined the tissue a week ago. It was primarily pink with a little pinkish white at the ends.
After the surgery, I didn't have a chance to speak with the doctor about what his impressions were, but the nurse assured me that the biopsies were on their way and that it would take 2 week to get the results. I have a follow-up appointment scheduled with him this Thursday, March 12th to check on the surgery area---the biopsies won't be in until March 10th.
As I sit hère and type this note, I am still in pain. Pain in my mouth, jaw; on the outside of my cheek it's warm to the touch and I do get relief by applying a cold pack. My cheek is yellow in that same area; it looks as if a bruise is in it's healing phase. Part of the pain can be attributed to getting what I think is yet another dry socket, which I will have to have packed tomorrow. I am afraid to admit that the other pain that I feel is similar to what I felt the last time around---prior to noticing that the tissue wasn't healing correctly.
As of tomorrow, I will have taken a total of 25 days worth of the Clindamycin. I
have also been on a high-quality probiotic as well in order to preserve the rest of my system.  I guess it's safe to assume that the antibiotic isn't kicking whatever it is that's kicking my mouth/tissue/jaw area. I'm allergic to penicillin and bactrim---maybe there is something else that could help eradicate this stuff…germ, bacteria, etc…...
I realize that once the biopsy results arrive, the surgeon will have a clear idea of what is going on with me and we'll develop a plan of attack-----but I am really concerned because I haven't a clue what to think about everything that's been going on. I also fear not getting relief from all of this discomfort…it's hard to find anyone who'll really speak up with a solid, professional opinion and that scares me.
*One other footnote worth sharing. Several days after I had the extractions done, I was scheduled for my regular 6-month cleaning and check-up with my dentist. I explained to her how I was feeling and I described the pain that was creeping in… She picked up one of my x-ray films that they had just taken and pointed to this vertical thing that was very clear. She said "maybe this is your problem." I didn't know what to say because when I normally look at x-rays I don't see much. Anyhow, it resembled the lead from inside a #2 pencil---a short little piece for sure. When I explained what my dentist had shown me on an x-ray taken a few days prior to my visit to the oral surgeon, he never said a word, nod his head, or anything. He didn't even look at me. ??? Did I miss something?
I apologize for being so long-winded. Thank you for reading this post. Take care! Laughter |