So I had my upper left and bottom 2 wisdom teeth removed along with 2 root canals and some fillings on 3/11/15. I had some issues with getting numb and they had to apply numerous times. Overall everything took about 2 hours and after the extraction was told to just not suck through a straw or smoke for 48 hours. I was prescribed Percocet for pain and no antibiotics.

I bled for the first 24 hours but everything seemed normal until I decided to brush my teeth friday night. I felt like I hit something on my right side and bled a little. Didn't really think anything of it.

I woke up on 3/14/15 with my right side of my face more swollen and now theres a hard lump on my jaw line. Now heres the fun part, my Dentist office is on spring break. I was given the receptionists number in case anything happened, so I called her up. She said she doesn't think its a dry socket because I'm not in any pain, but she prescribed me Cephalexin 500 mg 3x a day for a week. I was told if this hasn't gone down in size tomorrow morning to contact her again and I'll have to go to the on call dentist.

I don't see this going down by tomorrow morning.. I've only been taking antibiotics for about 24 hours now. And I'm having the taste of death in my mouth. I'm assuming this is infection. But what is this hard lump on my jaw?!?! Its halfway down from the extraction site and is more uncomfortable then painful. But I do get pain/pressure randomly in my teeth. And the lump hurts when touching it.

Help!

Hi fugeri,

First thing...if you are a smoker, do not smoke. Forty eight hours is something patients are told but truthfully that is not long enough. The toxic chemicals in tobacco will cause unmeasurable irritation to the wounds, infection and can prevent complete healing.

Refrain from smoking until all of the surgical wounds are closed over with gum tissue even if this takes several weeks. Perhaps it is a good time to stop smoking altogether!

Secondly, a receptionist cannot legally prescribe any rx meds for a patient.

Thirdly, the swelling may be normal but it may not be. So it is best to have it clinically evaluated by a dentist. Preferably an oral surgeon. Did you see an oral surgeon for the extractions or a general dentist?

It is normal to have a bad odor in your mouth from the surgical wounds. These are not shallow openings, they are deep into the bone. To lessen the odor, make sure to eat carefully avoiding food from getting stuck in the holes and keep your other teeth clean with brushing and flossing. Do not use any mouthwash as the chemicals in them will dry up your saliva, irritate the wounds and can prevent healing. Rinse gently with warm salt water 3-4 times a day. Eat a nutritious soft food diet until the wounds close over and avoid sugar or soda as those things have no nutritional value and can slow down the healing.

Bryanna

Thanks for responding. So I'm not a smoker except for Marijuana, and I smoked yesterday after the fact. That was the only time.

A general dentist is who extracted my wisdom teeth.. I went back to the office today to see the lady Ive been talking to. Shes a dental assistant/receptionist for that office. She looked in my mouth and says its not infection in my tooth nor dry sockets.

The thing is on Fri night(3/13), I was brushing my teeth and I brushed to far back. She thinks that I hit it kind of hard and irritated it to cause blood/pus to pool up in my jaw. She said to keep taking the antibiotics for the rest of the week to see how it goes.

Theres another dentist on call she said I can talk to if I still feel uneasy. So I will see how the antibiotics treat it I guess and if I don't see any improvement I'll see the other dentist..

Can this hard lump really just be blood/pus? I really have no other pain or anything. Sometimes soarness, sometimes discomfort, but generally pretty good.

fugeri,

To be clear about the smoking... refrain from smoking anything until the sites close over. If you are going to use pot bake it in some brownies or something. I'm not telling you to use pot. I'm just suggesting that you refrain from smoking it for now.

Again unless the assistant/receptionist has a license to write out an rx or administer pharmaceutical medication, she has no legal authority to do so.

So if there is no infection, as per this woman, then there is no reason to take the antibiotics. Therefore, she has given you mixed information and it is not wise to take antibiotics unless they are absolutely necessary.

Your problem has not been properly diagnosed and swelling in the jaw bone can be indicative of a very serious infection that may not resolve with oral antibiotics. It would behoove you to see the on call dentist for proper evaluation.

In the future, unless it is a simple extraction with no indication of an infection, it is best to see an oral surgeon for extractions as they are more experienced and knowledgeable about oral surgery.

Could you please clarify..... Were the root canaled teeth extracted or were the root canals just done on the same day as the other extractions?

Bryanna

Well she meant there was no infection in the tooth. That I still have an infection from the extraction site because I have pus coming from there. I had the 2 root canals done at the same time. But thats not the side thats bothering me. The side thats bothering me is where I brushed. I have stopped smoking and only did so last night to chill out a little cause I was freaking out.

Do you suggest going and seeing the other on call dentist then? Im not swollen at all, just have that lump on my jaw/cheek.

Gah this is annoying and frustrating.

I've refrained until last night. I was freaking out a little so I smoked to calm down. Other then that nothing.

I'd imagine the assistant/receptionist has some kind of power because she called in the prescription and wrote me more for pain meds if needed. I dunno what exactly her titled is, but she said shes been doing this for 15 years.

Now I should have been clear, she meant there was no infection on my gum lines/tooth, so the infection is in the extraction site as to thats where the pus is coming from. She looked in my mouth though and said everything is looking fine. To just keep taking the antibiotics and the lump should go down. She said she consulted with the Dr this morning as well.

Now this lump is not necessarily on my jaw bone, but in my cheek by the jaw line. Do you still think I should go and see the on call dentist to get a second opinion?

fugeri,

This assistant needs to be licensed to prescribe medication. I am a licensed dental assistant for over 30 years and I have no authority to prescribe meds without a doctors permission. If I see a surgical patient for a post op and there is any indication of an infection anywhere near the surgery, I would call in the doctor to evaluate it.

Yes, I think it would be wise to see a dentist for proper evaluation of this infection.

Bryanna