Hi shell,

What is in the "toothache kit"?

When a person has pain, intense pain, beyond the 3rd or 4th day of a tooth extraction and it is due to a dry socket.... then having the site packed every day or two brings great relief. This would require that the previous packing be removed in order for the new packing to be placed.

Basic post operative instructions following a tooth extraction to be carried out for about the first 2+ weeks:

Avoid drinking through a straw.
Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.
Avoid mouthwash.
Avoid chewy foods as it requires too much effort of the jaw and jaw muscles. Eat a soft food diet instead and do not eat on the affected side until the swelling is gone and the site is comfortable and the gum tissue is closing over.
Brush and floss all of your teeth to reduce the accumulation of plaque.
Rinse with warm salt water 3-4 times a day.

Referred pain can be due to a number of things:
Dry socket can cause a radiating pain.
Clenching or grinding your teeth... often occurs when someones mouth hurts.
Could be overuse of your jaw and jaw muscles when chewing. If you think that could be, then stick to a soft food diet.
If the gums on the adjacent teeth are sore and achey, then it could be due to an accumulation of plaque. If that's the case, they brush and floss better.

If the site is healing and there are no other contributing factors (some of which I have mentioned), then it could take a few weeks before it calms down completely. However, if the pain you have today does not get continuously less each day, then do not hesitate to go back to the surgeon for him to take a look.

Hope this info helps and you start to feel better soon.
Bryanna

Thank you for your answer Bryanna. Since I posted, I had increased pain and felt very miserable and forced myself to have a good look at the site (I get pretty freaked out by it). I also noticed heightened sensitivity of the surrounding gum which appeared white and thought it might have got infected. So I steeled myself and went back to the dentist, I was shaking I was so nervous but he cleaned out the hole and repacked it. He said the hole was smaller and he has prescribed Metronidazole (Flagyl) for three days. The pain has eased quite a bit now but I feel miserable - I have anxiety issues and am also going through the menopause so suffering with some depression, all in all I have not been dealing very well with the dry socket situation psychologically. I don't know if everyone gets depressed when they go through this. I have high hopes that the situation will now resolve, but the dentist said if it hasn't settled by next week he will refer me to the hospital. I had never heard of dry socket until last week but now feel like an expert I have read so much! Thanks again.

Thanks again Bryanna - forgot to tell you the toothache kit was clove oil, camphor and lidocaine with plastic tweezers and cotton wool.