Fearfulkid,

Glad you are feeling well today!

Eat a nutritious soft food diet. No seeds, no rice, nothing crunchy or chewy, and nothing that is small enough to get stuck in the socket. If you eat the way I am suggesting, then you will not have to worry about cleaning the socket. Warm salt water rinses will do that for you. DO NOT touch the socket with anything...no tissue, no gauze, no q tip, no toothbrush, no finger.... nothing. Ok...makes sense? :)

Dry sockets do occur less frequently with upper teeth than with lower teeth due to gravity. The blood is able to flow better and clot easier in an upper socket than in a lower one.

Stick with the right diet and that area should be fine.

Bryanna

Bryanna,

Thank you for clarifying things for me... I'm like a child in a way that I almost always need some sort of reassurance :/ lol

I believe that I'm healing just fine. No pain just very very mild soreness, mainly from the injection sites... Barely even noticeable :) I take my antibiotics every 8 hours (3x a day), brush my teeth morning and night, and do warm salt water rinses 3-4 times a day. However, I have a few questions though (as always lol)


1. My root canal is still incomplete. I don't have sensitivity (hot/cold) on that tooth anymore, but it's sore when I bite down on that tooth. It only has a filling, no temp crown. Is this normal? Also, that tooth was infected and I read that it might be more sore and may require longer healing time because of it. My next root canal appointment is on the 23rd.


2. My upper extraction has a dark red/purple scab like thing with a white coating, which I think is how it's suppose to look 4 days post-op. I am also on a 7-day amoxicillin antibiotic (i had an infection before and apparently during the extraction). My concern is I started a minor cough today (slight cough maybe 20x a day or so) is this because I'm on antibiotics and my immune system is a bit weaker, or is this indicative of a systemic infection? I feel fine though, no swelling, fever, pain, etc. just a slight cough. I just get scared because I heard of deaths a few days after infected tooth extraction even with antibiotics and it freaks me out :( ,.... I'm hoping this is just a minor cough because my sisters were slightly sick a few days ago, maybe I caught it from them.

3. Antibiotics after an infected tooth extraction should eliminate the remainder of the infection right? So it prevents it from becoming systemic?


Thank you again in advance. I tend to over analyze things and would love to hear some positive reassurance from someone who knows their stuff :)

Hi fearfulkid,

I will repost your questions and answer in bold type.

<<<1. My root canal is still incomplete. I don't have sensitivity (hot/cold) on that tooth anymore, but it's sore when I bite down on that tooth. It only has a filling, no temp crown. Is this normal? Also, that tooth was infected and I read that it might be more sore and may require longer healing time because of it. My next root canal appointment is on the 23rd.>>>

I HAVE DELIBERATELY BEEN AVOIDING THE TOPIC OF YOUR ROOT CANALED TOOTH BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO UPSET YOU. BUT THERE IS NO EASY WAY TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR ROOT CANALED TOOTH WILL NEVER BE HEALTHY AGAIN. IRRELEVANT OF WHETHER THE SORENESS SUBSIDES OR NOT THE TOOTH WILL STILL BE INFECTED. RATHER THAN GO INTO A BIG EXPLANATION HERE... GO BACK TO THE DENTAL FORUM HOME PAGE AND AT THE TOP NEXT TO "STICKY" CLICK ON "USEFUL WEBSITES AND REFERENCES". SCROLL DOWN THAT PAGE TO THE 6TH ENTRY AND CLICK ON THE LINK THAT I PROVIDED THERE. THIS WILL OFFER YOU DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT ROOT CANALED TEETH. HOWEVER, I AM WARNING YOU THAT IT PROVIDES SOME VERY STRAIGHT FORWARD INFORMATION THAT MOST DENTISTS NEVER TELL THEIR PATIENTS. SO DON'T PANIC AFTER YOU READ IT.

<<<2. My upper extraction has a dark red/purple scab like thing with a white coating, which I think is how it's suppose to look 4 days post-op. I am also on a 7-day amoxicillin antibiotic (i had an infection before and apparently during the extraction).>>>

THAT RED AREA INSIDE OF THE SOCKET IS THE CLOT... JUST LEAVE IT ALONE. THE WHITE COATING COULD BE PLAQUE OR JUST SOME TISSUE THAT HAS SLOUGHED OFF. JUST KEEP RINSING WITH THE WARM SALT WATER.

<<< My concern is I started a minor cough today (slight cough maybe 20x a day or so) is this because I'm on antibiotics and my immune system is a bit weaker, or is this indicative of a systemic infection? I feel fine though, no swelling, fever, pain, etc. just a slight cough>>>

ANTIBIOTICS DO COMPROMISE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY DISTURB THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD BACTERIA IN THE INTESTINES. ALSO THERE IS NO WAY ANYONE HERE CAN DIAGNOSE IF YOU HAVE A SYSTEMIC INFECTION OR NOT.

<<<I just get scared because I heard of deaths a few days after infected tooth extraction even with antibiotics and it freaks me out :( ,.... I'm hoping this is just a minor cough because my sisters were slightly sick a few days ago, maybe I caught it from them. >>>

I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU READ THAT. THE CHANCES OF THAT OCCURRING ARE VERY SLIM AND I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BASICALLY OCCUR IN SOMEONE WHOSE HEALTH WAS ALREADY VERY COMPROMISED.

<<<3. Antibiotics after an infected tooth extraction should eliminate the remainder of the infection right? So it prevents it from becoming systemic?>>>

THAT IS THE GOAL OF TAKING THE ANTIBIOTIC. HOWEVER SOMETIMES THE INFECTION IS STILL PRESENT AFTER THE MEDS ARE DONE. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL CASE. IF THE SITE IS HEALING WELL AND YOU ARE FEELING WELL THEN HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE JUST FINE. IT TAKES TIME TO HEAL FROM ORAL SURGERY.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

Thanks for sharing that link and information... I guess, I'll hope for the best regarding my root canal. I already have 2 from 8 years ago :/

I have a few more questions regarding my extraction, if that's ok... :) I think, in my opinion, it's healing fairly well. Today is the end of the 9th day since my extraction and the socket is dark purple. Before it looked just like a blob between the socket and the gum, but now there's a definitive hole. The socket looks almost like a perfect circle. I can distinguish the socket from the gum. The hole itself looks a bit smaller, but somewhat still deep. I'm not too sure if that's a good thing. Also, I hadn't realized the dangers of oroantral communication fistula when it comes to upper extractions. Naturally for me, I'm freaking out. The tooth that was extracted was #3 (originally #2, but my wisdom tooth came out a few years ago).

Earlier today, I felt this weird feeling in my nose on the same side as the extraction, felt like I inhaled some powder or some sort and it trickled down my throat.. and as soon as that happened I felt a scratchy throat. I drank water ASAP and it went away juSt as quickly. I'm wondering if this is something of a concern. Also, on the the 3rd or 4th day after my extraction, I noticed a salty taste near the socket... And that too went away.

This afternoon, I noticed the socket was filled with white stuff, like I couldn't see the purple clot. After I ate, I rinsed with salt water and the white stuff was gone, I could now see the purple clot again. Weird. Other than this, I have no pain or fever whatsoever and we all know that I followed the after care thoroughly (I even slept with my head elevated for the first five days and I'm still rinsing with warm salt water after every meal:))

I have an appointment with my dentist on Monday for the root canal crown, I'll ask him about it but I just wanted some info before then to possibly ease my worries. Also, can the dentist tell of there is any problems with the sinuses (hole, cavity, etc) after he extracted it, with/without the x ray? In addition, I figured if the upper molar extraction was close to the sinuses, I would've been informed. Especially since my dentist is very kind and caring (even called me on the 6th day to make sure I was ok)

Maybe I'm just freaking out over nothing again (hopefully). I really need to stay away from the internet *sigh*

Thanks again,

FearfulKid

Hi Bryanna,
It's me again.
I was wondering if you could please view my panoramic x ray? It's not the best copy, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough.

Is my extraction #3 near the sinuses? I'm hoping it's not something to fret about even if it might be, but you know me lol
Thank you so much :)