Hi Jan,

Not only has it been my professional experience but if you were to google "dry socket packing by dentist" you would find that the repetitive nature of the information pertains to extreme pain that began on the 3rd to 4th day post op the extractions and the recommendation is to pack, remove, repack every 24-48 hours as needed. Nothing indicates leaving the packing in for longer than that. In fact, the packing usually falls out by the second day if it is not purposely removed. A dry socket causes A LOT of pain not just discomfort.... even in someone who has a high pain tolerance. So I am thinking that for whatever reason this OS packs routinely almost as a precautionary measure. The problem with that is the packing is for soothing pain only as it can delay the healing because it disrupts the natural healing process. So it's used to get people out of pain during the peak times of pain and really for no other reason. Does that make sense to you?

I would ask him what he is using exactly and if it has something in it that promotes healing. Perhaps he has his own formula of something that he uses that is not the same as dry socket paste. The fact that he gets annoyed with you when you inquire about something is not a reason for you not to ask questions. He is obligated to inform you of everything he does and uses. You are not questioning his judgement, you are inquiring about his post op protocol and nothing more.

It's not really fair to you to assume that your situation is the same as the other persons situation. She may (or may not) genuinely have dry socket. Everyone is a bit different.

It is common to experience cold sensitivity in the areas near the extraction sites. This is due to some recession of the gum tissue on the adjacent teeth as the inflammation subsides and the tissue is healing. Sometimes a bit of root becomes exposed on the second molar and most often the sensitivity goes away. It also occurs because the extraction site is open to the jaw bone which makes it vulnerable to temperature changes, cold in particular. As the bone fills in and the tissue closes over the sensitivity generally subsides.

Bryanna