I'm 59 and until recently still had all my wisdom teeth. When I was a child, my fmaily dentist watched them erupt, said "things are a little tight but look OK" and eventually decided things were good enough.

About 15 years ago both upper 3rd molars developed cavities and which were filled. Since then, my dentist noticed decay under one of those fillings and said it would be advisable to do an extraction rather than play with root canal, filling, etc in a basically inaccessible area.

Exactly 1 month ago my dentist began the extraction and failed, as the wisdom tooth shattered as he was trying to pull it. It was not impacted. He made me an appointment with a local oral surgeon that afternoon, and he completed the extraction. I was on antibiotics for 10 days afterwards. On a repeat visit on Day 5, the surgeon said the socket was closing nicely and sent me on my way.

In the following weeks the pain improved. Until about 1 week ago I noticed a sweet-salty taste (tissue fluid?) from the area of the socket, particularly after toothbrushing, which disappeared the next morning. There is no blood, smell, or bad taste.

I am now back to a pretty much regular diet, brushing my teeth with mild toothpaste as I found that strong mint near the open socket caused a stinging pain. What bothers me is the fact that I am still getting intermittent aching pain which resembles a mild toothache, from the buccal side of my gums just behind the maxillary tuberosity. I am concerned because, if I run my finger along the gum line between my cheek and jaw,and compare the side of the extraction to the other, they are not the same. The gums over the 2nd molar are firmer and bulge more along that ridge, and if I press lightly there I think I can reproduce the toothache-like pain. If i press too hard, I feel it for severar hours afterward.

I have read a lot dental patient information sites in which they tell you what to expect, and nobody seems to cover this except to say that there is bone remodeling which can take months, and sometimes spicules of bone may erupt from the socket and need to be snipped. I have not seen this.

Whould I be worried about local tenderness and maxillary tenderness 4 weeks after an extraction?