Thank you for your reply, I will take head on your advise, I am so shocked that this healing is this long. If you read on teeth extraction, I am not seeing people not doing great by day 10. I guess I picked the short straw....My anxiety was so severe I had a feeling I didnt want to have this extracted, no choice I know but at least I learned something new about my teeth health and how slow of a healer I am. I am 47 and my smoking is bad but you have pain you grab for a cig, I white knuckled it for the first 48 hrs. I am now wondering if he knew I had a sinus perferation and just didnt want to tell me, when I sat in his chair I told him what a baby I was, lol. Is it a tough extraction to grab the tooth that is broken at the gums? He pulled it one swoop but I thought my head was coming off my shoulders. Thank you again for your advise, I will take it.
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Originally Posted by Bryanna
Hi Pennye,
I am in the dental field and can offer you some information about your situation.
First, stop smoking. Seriously the carcinogens in the tobacco can completely disrupt the healing and contribute to infection in the jawbone. Again the chemicals in the tobacco deprive the oxygen level and reduce the number of red blood cells which are imperative for the purpose of healing.
The ONLY reason the dentist will tell you to quit smoking for 4 days is because he knows you probably will not comply and if he can get you to not smoke for a day or two, he'll take it. However, that does not mean it is okay to smoke while this extraction site is healing. The same thing applies to drinking soda. That too should be avoided until the site has healed closed. Ideally both of these things should be eliminated completely for the sake of your overall health.... not preaching... just sayin'.
The gel foam that was placed in the socket has long dissolved. If what you are tasting is salty or bitter, it could be that you have sinus communication which means there could be a sinus perforation. This is commonly seen with patients that smoke because the thin membrane that covers the sinus wall up inside the open socket can easily tear from the inhalation of the cigarette. I think that is what the dentist is basically referring to when he says the "scab". If this is what you have and continue to smoke, this can become a larger perforation and very difficult to repair.
Your sinus problems are partially due to your smoking. The neti pot will not offer any long term relief so long as you smoke.
If you can stop smoking at least until the site closes over completely which may be a few weeks or longer, that would be helpful. If you continue to have this drainage and taste you should see the surgeon again, but he will most likely tell you that you need to stop smoking or he will not be able to fix it.
Bryanna
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