Hey, all.

I had my bottom left wisdom tooth extracted a week and a half ago. I'm limiting the "hard stuff" pain relief (hydrocodone) to bedtime, but it's bugging me that I still have to take heavy doses of Advil about 2-3 times a day, even now. It's one tooth! Is this crazy?? The oral surg said Tuesday that I'm healing well; no dry socket. How long should I have to keep this up?? Is 2 weeks unusual? Longer? I'm improving s-l-o-w-l-y.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Thanks muchly!

LIZARD

Hi Lizard,
The area where the wisdom tooth was removed will not be fully healed for several months. It is common for people to have varying degrees of pain/discomfort for the first several weeks after a lower wisdom tooth is removed. It all depends on if there was an infection; if there was swelling pre operatively; if it was impacted; and how delicately the surgery was performed.

By the end of the second week, most people are not on heavy doses of any pain reliever......... OTC or Rx.

Some things that can impede or slow the rate of healing are :
smoking; alcohol consumption; dehydration; or malnourishment.

I hope within the next few day you notice a big improvement!

Bryanna

Liz I'm sorry you are still having such discomfort. But you're ahead of me since mine just came out Monday - all 4. I started to feel somewhat better, pain wise, yesterday so went out to work in my garden. I had one heck of a sneeze attack from all the pollen and my mouth started to bleed again. Today the pain is excruciating so I'm staying in.

Bryanna I did manage to eat some rice pudding yesterday and even had ice cream..my favorite. Today, hmmmm not so sure.

Hi BJ,
The bleeding, which is a bit of oozing when the site is disturbed, will stop. It is normal to have this occur for several days after the extractions. However, some people do not experience this at all. It just depends on how extensive the surgery was and how quickly the areas heal.

I hope you are feeling better today and have been able to eat something a bit more substantial. With each day, you will get better....... I'm sure of it!

Bryanna

Hi!

Can I just jump in for a moment here? Can tooth problems cause neuralgia, or facial pain? I'm not sure if it's that, or surgery I had last year for a cerebral aneurysm on the left. The facial pain is on the right. I wish someone could tell me if this is normal healing process for post op aneurysm clipping, or a major tooth problem! It sure is sensitive and I'm not sure if I should see a dentist or my doc. Whadya think?

Thanks so much, everybody!!

I am infinitely better now than I was and just took Advil last night to be sure the remaining occasional dull pain didn't keep me up. My greatest concern is keeping food out of the hole 'til it fills up. Last night, I did have some nagging slight pain/discomfort in my left ear, as it's right near the affected nerve, but it's so much better than it was!


Thanks, y'all!

LIZARD, on the mend

Hi Diana,
I do not about your particular case, but tooth problems or any other oral infections can cause or contribute to facial nerve pain and/or neuralgia. Various conditions associated with the TMJ can cause these issues to occur as well.

A good website to learn about facial pain is www.drshankland.com
Dr. Shankland has also written two very informative books about the subject. In case you do some additional research about Shankland, you may find that he has recently had his dental license temporarily suspended. Just like so many others before him who have devoted their lifes work to helping people with various types of facial pain/neuralgia from the perspective that there is a scientific connection between the mouth and the whole body.

Unfortunately, the "Integrative" approach of connecting dentistry and medicine has not been recognized by the large dental associations and they prefer to keep the two professions separate. Of course that is a huge governing body that puts alot of pressure on the dental practitioner to never step outside of the box. So for those that do take the Integrative approach, they are continuously scrutinized by these large dental associations and insurance companies who are out to stop them from practicing this type of healthcare. Fortunately, due to consumers becoming more and more aware of the oral/body health connection through research or personal experience, this closed minded thinking will eventually change. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later........

Have you had any recent dental radiographs done? One that may be helpful is called a Panorex. This shows the maxillary and mandibular areas of the head in it's entirety.

I hope this information was helpful.
Bryanna

I can't even begin to fathom getting all four wisdoms out at once, although I know it's done all the time. How do you feel now?

I just had ice cream touch the site, and it brought mild discomfort, but I'm apparently mending well now. I hope you're improving!




LIZARD