I am filled with anxiety and to the point of panic. I had a tooth pulled 19 days ago, it was a broken at the gum premolar with a prior root canal. Had to tooth pulled, seems I am a slow healer 47 yrs old. I have been tasting a salt like taste the whole time after the extraction, according to the dentist because I smoke and the taste was the "scab" inside getting hot. OK so going forward to tonight, I have had the sneezes spring allergies, I forgot to open my mouth to sneeze and I sneezed and have a huge amount of that taste of "salt", I grabbed a tissue to wipe the "salt off my toungue and its blood!!, I looked in the mirror and the socket is blood. No pain thank god, I have no idea what to do or who to talk to ......any help would be awsome. I have a fear of dentist to the extreme of feeling faint,

Hello and welcome to NT. Try not to get upset. I know it is scarry at times when we don't know what is going on.
I wish you could find that doctor who can alieviate the stress . I found a new dentist after 50 years of freaking over all appts.. That made all the difference in the world.
If you are finding "Fresh" blood after 14 days, I would at least call your dentist. Try salt water rinses, no mouth wash OK? It is not abnormal to see a clot in the socket. If you have no swelling or pain, it might just be OK.
Post to Bryanna, she is the best on NT for dental issues, as she was in the profession many many years. Take a deep breath. I know she will answer you. When this situation is resolved, consider interviewing some new dentists, who can turn your fear around. I never thought in a million years, that I would ever actually Like going to the dentist. I really hope this can happen for you, so the rest of your life, the dentist can be a friend. There isn't anything worse than needing a dentist, and hating to go out of fear. I do wish you a speedy recovery, and no complications. Keep in touch. ginnie

Pennye,

Go see an oral surgeon asap. I know you are scared but you need to have this evaluated. If you wait, it will get worse. The idea of no pain does not mean it it's okay. This occurrence is not normal at this stage of healing and happened because their is a problem. Yes, it may be due to your smoking. I think we've addressed this before and thought you understood the risk that you were taking with smoking while healing.

Please, stop smoking and go see your oral surgeon. This is not something to mess with. To have it treated now is less of a problem than if you wait.

There is nothing more we can do for you here. You need to see the oral surgeon. You will be okay if you have this treated.

Bryanna

I just called the office and was told what I thought to be. Its normal and there is nothing to be done but sit back and wait for the healing. I had a huge piece of gelfoam in the extraction site and stitches. This put me behind in the healing time, it took time for the gelfoam to melt. I found an awsome piece of info which is very informing.

Extraction site healing - Weeks 1 and 2.

What will you notice?

During the first two weeks after your surgery, you should notice that the gum tissue that surrounds your extraction site has completed a significant amount of healing. (As a point of reference, it's usually considered that enough gum tissue healing has taken place by days 7 through 10 that stitches can be removed.)

Especially toward the end of this time frame, you should find that the site really isn't much of a problem or bother. However, the relative amount of healing that's been able to take place will be influenced by the initial size of the wound. Wider and deeper wounds require a greater amount of time to fill in and close.

Restrictions on activities.

It is important to understand that the tissue that initially forms during the healing process is quite vascular (contains a large number of blood vessels). So, if you inadvertently traumatize it (like with food or while brushing), you can expect it to bleed easily. You can also expect this newly formed tissue to be tender when accidentally touched or prodded.

Pennye,

This is your previous post....
<<<<I am filled with anxiety and to the point of panic. I had a tooth pulled 19 days ago, it was a broken at the gum premolar with a prior root canal. Had to tooth pulled, seems I am a slow healer 47 yrs old. I have been tasting a salt like taste the whole time after the extraction, according to the dentist because I smoke and the taste was the "scab" inside getting hot. OK so going forward to tonight, I have had the sneezes spring allergies, I forgot to open my mouth to sneeze and I sneezed and have a huge amount of that taste of "salt", I grabbed a tissue to wipe the "salt off my toungue and its blood!!, I looked in the mirror and the socket is blood. No pain thank god, I have no idea what to do or who to talk to ......any help would be awsome. I have a fear of dentist to the extreme of feeling faint>>>

Pennye, I'm a bit confused here. IMO, what you described above is not anything similar to what you have re written about your findings online that state what is normal for 7-14 days post op.

I assume you explained to the oral surgeon in detail what you have experienced. If so, then I assume your dentist figures this incident is "expected" because the site is not healing the way it "normally" would in a non smoker.

Your case is typical in that patients who continue to smoke post-operatively tend to have complications during the healing phase and they do take longer to heal.

I wish you all the best.
Bryanna

I explained exactly to the "receptionist" because you cant get to the dentist or a nurse, and she said there were no complications with my extraction, I asked her is there was a sinus perferation, she grabbed the file and said no. She said if the site is not bleeding now and no pain I just have to wait for the socket to heal. This suprised me per your reply it sounded like I was in deep trouble. I asked her if I should salt water rinse still and she said no, for a smoker yes longer healing, and common sense dictates this but when you have anxiety you dont have much common sense. lol lol or I would not be a smoker. Its very aggrivating and worrysome to have different symtoms and no where to get answers and when you call your dentist they treat you like you are a bug. Hence why I came onto this site thinking maybe someone else had this experience. The way I see it I am a week behind on healing because of the Gelfoam, which I am gratefull to the dentist because he knew I was a smoker and he was giving me extra precaution against dry socket. I find the bleeding after this time scary but I have to look at the whole picture and I must be the only person who ever smoked after an extraction rock on smokers for quiting until the site is completly healed up...I feel the quote I posted can be helpful to a person who might not know what to expect and you can still bleed in the 2 week period. If the Gelfoam and stitches were in the socket the site had to wait until the foam dissolved to start to scab ect. One thing I will take away with this "first" extraction is no one heals the same and if a person smokes just add on a bunch more time to heal. Its interesting to hear about people cleaning out there extraction site with a syringe when I asked if it applied to me the dentist said no....hmm Am I correct when I say if the site has not closed shut this is still a Wound? and A wound can still bleed?
Thank you I have cut the smoking in half and except the responsibility of healing slower but when a person is scared sometimes a knowledgable person may be able to calm the fears a little bit.



This is your previous post....
<<<<I am filled with anxiety and to the point of panic. I had a tooth pulled 19 days ago, it was a broken at the gum premolar with a prior root canal. Had to tooth pulled, seems I am a slow healer 47 yrs old. I have been tasting a salt like taste the whole time after the extraction, according to the dentist because I smoke and the taste was the "scab" inside getting hot. OK so going forward to tonight, I have had the sneezes spring allergies, I forgot to open my mouth to sneeze and I sneezed and have a huge amount of that taste of "salt", I grabbed a tissue to wipe the "salt off my toungue and its blood!!, I looked in the mirror and the socket is blood. No pain thank god, I have no idea what to do or who to talk to ......any help would be awsome. I have a fear of dentist to the extreme of feeling faint>>>

Pennye, I'm a bit confused here. IMO, what you described above is not anything similar to what you have re written about your findings online that state what is normal for 7-14 days post op.

I assume you explained to the oral surgeon in detail what you have experienced. If so, then I assume your dentist figures this incident is "expected" because the site is not healing the way it "normally" would in a non smoker.

Your case is typical in that patients who continue to smoke post-operatively tend to have complications during the healing phase and they do take longer to heal.

I wish you all the best.
Bryanna[/QUOTE]