Hello All; I came across this posting board during my numerous researching and thought I would post my situation and see if anyone has feedback.

I will try to keep it short and to the point

Eleven days ago I had first lower left molar extracted along with a bone graft. Was a previously root canaled /crowned tooth that had hurt off and on for 6 years. All looked well on x-ray but finally was diagnosed with a fractured tooth and was confirmed at the time of extraction.

It took 2 hours to do the procedure - most of which I am told had to do with difficulty getting the crown off. The tooth broke in two when he tried to pull it out but claims all came out fine. No signs of infection at all and according to the Periodontist, bone and everything looked good. Great...

Not sure if it is relevant or not but I did not bleed at all during or after the extraction. Is that normal? How can I form a blood clot if I did not bleed?

So three days after the procedure I developed horrific pain that was 100% consistent with dry socket - you all know how that feels. So he saw me right away and told me no dry socket and that I was healing well. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain but was literally in tears from the pain. He put me on Percocet 10mg.s every 6 hours and 600 mg. motrin along with Clindamycin "just in case".

The pain meds helped a little but still in bad pain. Nights were the worst. Went back a second time because I have had dry socket before and this is exactly how it felt! The pain had become unbearable. At this point I am one week post - op. He looks again and re-did stiches, cleaned it out but said no dry socket - normal pain. NO WAY!!!!! This was not "normal" pain.

So I wait 2 days and in tears my dear hubby took me to my general dentist. In 30 seconds she diagnosed dry socket. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? She put packing in and I felt 100% better - that is until the next day when she re-did the packing. She told me she could literally see the bone but Dr. Harvard trained Perio could not?

I still have some pain in the socket but much better. Motrin during the day and 5 mg Percocet at night here and there. Not sure if it is still normal 11 days post op to continue to have dry socket pain. I go back to my general dentist on Monday for one more packing. She did one on Thursday and told me to try to keep it in during the weekend.

Gums are still red but not very swollen, swelling my face is pretty much gone.

Problem is the adjacent teeth hurt sooo bad I cannot even bite down on them w/o pain. So is this normal 11 days out or do I have another issue to deal with?

I do not trust my Perio since he missed dry socket! I fear he may have cracked or fractured my other teeth and now what?

This has been a nightmare and the dry socket pain I had been in for 8 days straight really took a lot out of me. While it is better I am still aware of it.

So, does anyone have any insight into how long dry socket pain can last and how long should adjacent teeth be sore before you start looking at other causes? Also could I be rejecting the bone graft? Thanks in advance!

Hi runnergal,

I am going to repost some of your thread and answer you in bold type.

<<<Eleven days ago I had first lower left molar extracted along with a bone graft. Was a previously root canaled /crowned tooth that had hurt off and on for 6 years. All looked well on x-ray but finally was diagnosed with a fractured tooth and was confirmed at the time of extraction.>>>

ALL ROOT CANALED TEETH ARE INFECTED. SO THE ON/OFF PAIN WAS DUE TO THE INFLAMMATION FROM THE INFECTION. NOT ALL DENTAL INFECTIONS SHOW UP RADIOGRAPHICALLY UNTIL THEY ARE ADVANCED. IT IS TYPICAL FOR ROOT CANALED TEETH TO FRACTURE AS THE VITALITY HAD BEEN REMOVED STARVING THE TOOTH OF NUTRITION.

<<<It took 2 hours to do the procedure - most of which I am told had to do with difficulty getting the crown off. The tooth broke in two when he tried to pull it out but claims all came out fine. No signs of infection at all and according to the Periodontist, bone and everything looked good. Great...>>>

PERIODONTISTS ARE GUM DISEASE SPECIALISTS. MOST PERIODONTISTS DO VERY FEW POSTERIOR EXTRACTIONS SO IT IS NOT A SURPRISED THAT HE HAD SOME DIFFICULTY REMOVING THIS FRAIL TOOTH.

<<<Not sure if it is relevant or not but I did not bleed at all during or after the extraction. Is that normal? How can I form a blood clot if I did not bleed?>>>

IT IS RELEVANT AS ALL ORAL SURGERY PROCEDURES NEED TO BLEED. THE BLOOD IS NOT ONLY A CLEANSING OF THE WOUND BUT IT IS NECESSARY IN THE FORMATION OF A BLOOD CLOT. BLOODLESS EXTRACTIONS OFTEN RESULT IN A DRY SOCKET. SOME DENTISTS PREFER TO WORK IN A BLOODLESS AREA WHICH MEANS THEY HAVE INJECTED A LOT OF LIDOCAINE TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF BLEEDING. NOT THE BEST CHOICE FOR POST OP HEALING.

<<<So three days after the procedure I developed horrific pain that was 100% consistent with dry socket - you all know how that feels. So he saw me right away and told me no dry socket and that I was healing well. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain but was literally in tears from the pain. He put me on Percocet 10mg.s every 6 hours and 600 mg. motrin along with Clindamycin "just in case".>>>>

PROBABLY WAS A DRY SOCKET. HE SHOULD HAVE PACKED THE SITE AND RE TREATED IT FOR A FEW MORE DAYS. THIS GUY HANDS OUT MEDS TOO EASILY.... A LOT OF DENTIST DO.

<<<The pain meds helped a little but still in bad pain. Nights were the worst. Went back a second time because I have had dry socket before and this is exactly how it felt! The pain had become unbearable. At this point I am one week post - op. He looks again and re-did stiches, cleaned it out but said no dry socket - normal pain. NO WAY!!!!! This was not "normal" pain.>>>

THE PAIN MEDS OFTEN DO NOT DO MUCH FOR THE PAIN OF A DRY SOCKET. CLEANING OUT THE SOCKET WAS ONLY ONE STEP TO DEALING WITH THIS PROBLEM... IT NEEDED TO BE PACKED.

<<<So I wait 2 days and in tears my dear hubby took me to my general dentist. In 30 seconds she diagnosed dry socket. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? She put packing in and I felt 100% better - that is until the next day when she re-did the packing. She told me she could literally see the bone but Dr. Harvard trained Perio could not?>>>

YUP, THE PACKING MAKES IT FEEL MUCH BETTER! BEING ABLE TO SEE THE BONE INDICATES THE DRY SOCKET. SOMETIMES THE SCHOOL SOMEONE ATTENDED DOESN'T MEAN THEY GRADUATED .... SMART... ;/

<<<I still have some pain in the socket but much better. Motrin during the day and 5 mg Percocet at night here and there. Not sure if it is still normal 11 days post op to continue to have dry socket pain. I go back to my general dentist on Monday for one more packing. She did one on Thursday and told me to try to keep it in during the weekend.>>>

THE PACKING MAY NEED TO BE REDONE A FEW TIMES. IT SHOULD NOT STAY IN FOR MORE THAN A DAY OR TWO WITHOUT BEING CHANGED.

<<<Gums are still red but not very swollen, swelling my face is pretty much gone.>>>

THOSE ARE GOOD SIGNS! BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY OF THIS EXTRACTION, THE SITE MAY NOT BE A GOOD ONE FOR A DENTAL IMPLANT. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO HAVE THIS SITE MONITORED WITH A FOLLOW UP XRAY IN ONE MONTH AND THEN AT 3 MONTH INTERVALS FOR ABOUT 6-9 MONTHS TO SEE HOW THE BONE IS HEALING.

<<<Problem is the adjacent teeth hurt sooo bad I cannot even bite down on them w/o pain. So is this normal 11 days out or do I have another issue to deal with? >>>

YES IT IS NORMAL TO HAVE PAIN IN THE ADJACENT TEETH AFTER A DIFFICULT EXTRACTION. THE BONE HAD TO BE OPENED UP WIDELY TO ELEVATE THIS TOOTH OUT WHICH MEANS IT TRAUMATIZED THE ADJACENT TEETH. IT IS BEST TO CONTINUE ON A SOFT FOOD DIET FOR A COUPLE OF MORE WEEKS AND ALSO AVOID CHEWING ON THAT SIDE OF YOUR MOUTH. THOSE TEETH NEED A GOOD REST.

<<<I do not trust my Perio since he missed dry socket! I fear he may have cracked or fractured my other teeth and now what?>>>

I DON'T BLAME YOU! HE MAY HAVE INJURED AN ADJACENT TOOTH.. THAT CAN HAPPEN DURING ANY EXTRACTION. BUT MOST LIKELY THOSE TEETH ARE TRAUMATIZED FROM THE SURGERY. DO YOU HAVE PERIODONTAL DISEASE?

<<<This has been a nightmare and the dry socket pain I had been in for 8 days straight really took a lot out of me. While it is better I am still aware of it. >>>

I'M SURE YOU ARE. ORAL PAIN CAN BE UNBEARABLE AND IF THE PERIODONTIST HAD DEALT WITH IT SOONER, IT MAY NOT HAVE GOTTEN TO BAD.

<<<So, does anyone have any insight into how long dry socket pain can last and how long should adjacent teeth be sore before you start looking at other causes? Also could I be rejecting the bone graft? Thanks in advance!>>>

THE PAIN OR DISCOMFORT FROM A DRY SOCKET CAN LAST SEVERAL WEEKS AS THE MOST CRUCIAL THING FOR HEALING, THE BLOOD CLOT, NEVER FORMED. SO THE AREA WILL HEAL MORE SLOWLY. THE PAIN SHOULD HOWEVER DECREASE WITH EACH DAY.

Bryanna

[Oh my goodness - thank you so much for your very detailed reply!

You answered my questions and eased my concerns. Big exhale

So, I ended up having a very long conversation with the Perio. and he was very very apologetic about what had happened. In retrospect he admits he should have treated it clinically even though he did not see bone during my last visit. I am still not sure how he missed it.

I went back to him to SHOW him the dry socket today and he did confirm and could not apologize more. He seemed quite humbled by the situation and of course claimed he wanted to everything in his power to fix the situation. He gave me his cell phone number to call if I have any concerns or the pain gets worse between packing changes.

He did an xray and everything looked "okay", no sign of infection in or around the area so he said I could stop the Clindamycin tomorrow. (that will be day 14 - 7 days from him and 7 days from my general dentist as a precaution). He took the stiches out today as well - I am 15 days post op.

I also had a bone graft at the time of extraction but apparently I lost some of my bone graft but he is more concerned about the dry socket healing and feels I have adequate bone so not going to replace right now. He also did some flap thing the day of the 2.5 hour surgery. Not sure I needed all of this since I had adequate bone based on the 3D Cone Scan and no perio disease. cha ching?

No, no perio disease at all. Pockets are pretty much all 2's. I am a clencher and grinder with TMJ issues. All of my root canaled teeth came about from trauma to the tooth and I have never had an infection in the teeth (according to my endo.). Also had some bad "bite adjustments" that lead to tooth trauma.

So the plan is to have the packing re-done every other day for the next week and he will moniter very closely. He claims that the packing can slow down healing? but that right now he wants me out of pain.

I never had gum or bone problems before this procedure and I hope I don't now because I really want to be able to have an implant as that was the plan.

So pain is more manageable then last week - that was childbirth level. Today is the first day I am trying not to take ANY pain meds or anti-inflame.'s. I even did a few errands and went for a walk but now as I type this the pain is starting to creep in so I might take some Motrin and not try to be a "hero".

Anyway.....thanks for all your feedback - it is much appreciated! Peace, RG