Hi all! As the title suggests, I am in extreme discomfort. I had my left bottom wisdom tooth removed 5 days ago, due to soft impaction and infection and have only been able to function with strong pain killers on board.

Obviously I expected some discomfort, but I can barely put my teeth together as the molar next to the extraction site is so painful. As soon as my top teeth come into contact with it, its excruciating. I've been doing my salt water rinses and brushing my teeth as normal, but I am yet to return to a normal diet as the pain is too intense.

I went to my gp on day 2 as the over the counter pain meds weren't working and was prescribed panadeine forte and voltaren (to help with inflammation) and a course of antibiotics. I thought it was getting better, but as soon as the pain meds start to wear off, I'm in agony again.

I do smoke, however I waited for 48 hours post extraction, and only took tiny little puffs after that, because I've experienced dry socket previously and it wasn't something I wanted to revisit. I'm freaking out that the tooth next to extraction site is damaged or something. I am constantly tense because of pain. Could this still be a dry socket? Even without biting there is a fair amount of constant pain and I'm at my breaking point. Please help!!

Hi Sharbear, I'm not qualified in any way apart from having a dry socket myself for the last two and a half weeks but it does sound to me as though that may be the case. I'm guessing the pain in the adjacent molar is referred pain. Have you tried Oil of Cloves or a Toothache first aid kit? Be very careful applying either not to get it on the gums and if using clove oil, dilute it first with coconut oil or similar. If it is dry socket (the amount of pain and timing of it really does suggest this) you need to get it packed by a dentist but my suggestions may help in the meantime. When my pain was at it's worst, topical relief like this helped more than painkillers. I used cotton buds to apply. Good luck!

Hi Sharbear,

The post op diet following any tooth extraction should consist of soft nutritious foods for the first 2 weeks or longer if necessary. This is to help the body heal properly ... it helps to avoid over using the jaw muscles and prevents the possibility of cutting the surgical site with sharp or crunchy foods. Often people are in a hurry to get back to normal eating when it's best to keep in mind that you had surgery in your mouth that has left you with a deep wound into the jaw bone. The gum tissue, if there are no complications can take up to several weeks to heal completely closed. The actual jaw bone takes up to one full year to fill in.

The smoking is a contributing factor to the dry socket and pain that you are experiencing. It does not matter if you refrained for 2 days post op or not, or how little or how much you smoke. The toxins in the cigarette cause inflammation and irritation to the wound and reduce the healthy red blood cells needed for healing resulting in the bone to become dry. So irrelevant of what you take medicinally or do topically to reduce the pain, the smoking is impeding the site from healing properly.

The pain in the adjacent molar could be due to the inflammation, infection, irritation, dry socket, plaque accumulation, tissue recession... etc. It is best to go back to the oral surgeon and have him evaluate the area. It may need to be debrided and packed with a dry socket medicament. You may need to go back a few more times to have the packing removed and replaced. However please know that if you continue to smoke the healing will be compromised irrelevant of what is done.

I hope you can get in to see the OS tomorrow and get some relief.

Bryanna