Hello,
I had my 4 wisdom teeth extracted 8 days ago. They were impacted and coming in horizontally on the lower ones and they were coming in straight but didn't have enough room on the top.

I am a little worried now. I haven't had any pain with my top extraction, but the lower ones are a different story. The right lower tooth had to be broken into 3 pieces because it was so impacted. I developed a lot of swelling but my pain and swelling has subsided. My second molar on this side hurts when I bite down and I get pain up to my ear. Is this normal? How long will it take to go away? The pain is bearable, it is just an annoying pain. My left lower extraction site has no pain but now I have a hole there. I flush it out with a syringe and warm water with salt. When I drink something cold it is very sensitive there. Is this hole normal? Am I taking care of it correctly?

I saw my dentist 2 days after and 5 days after and he said everything was beautiful. He didn't really prepare me for the possible discomfort or these things happening. He is away on vacation so calling his office isn't an option.

By the way, I am 28 years old, clean bill of health. I do not drink, never been a smoker and no drug usage. I am a nurse so I know all the things can go wrong. If I had dry socket, would it already have happened?

Thank you for any insight or recommendations.

Hi Claralivia,

Everyone heals a bit differently from wisdom tooth extractions. There are so many correlating factors that almost anything could be considered normal or abnormal depending on the individual case.

Sometimes a piece of the extracted tooth or a sliver of bone can prevent the surgical hole from closing. This can usually be picked up on a dental radio graph. In some cases the irritant needs to be removed and other times it manages to work itself out.

The cold sensitivity can be due to the fact that the site is still open to the bone level where the nerves are reacting to the temperature. The sensitivity could also be from some gum recession on the distal of the second molar. Recession can occur in various degrees on the second molar after a wisdom tooth is extracted. Usually it is mild and the sensitivity goes away in time.

The pain you feel on the second molar and in your ear when you bite down could be muscular related as your jaw had to be propped open very wide to gain access to the wisdom teeth. The jaw is also manipulated quite a bit during the procedure so the muscles can be in spasm a bit and/or they could be trying to relax. It is best not to chew too much to allow the jaw muscles to heal and relax and for that reason eating a nutritious soft food diet is best for the first 2-3 weeks after wisdom tooth removal.

Hopefully you will start to feel an improvement with each day. If you feel that the healing has become stagnant and/or you develop new pain or swelling, then contact the oral surgeon.

Please check in and let us know how you are doing.
Bryanna