Dry Socket is a painful dental condition that sometimes happens after a tooth extraction. The frequency of dry socket is rare (however, it is the most common complication following an extraction) and happens in approximately 2% of tooth extractions. It rises to 20% if the extraction is a lower wisdom tooth. Dry Socket is caused when a blood clot unsuccessfully gets dislodged before the healing process has completed. A blood clot aids in protecting the nerve endings in an empty tooth socket. It also provides a foundation of new growth of the development of soft tissue above the clot. Severe pain happens when there is exposure of the underlying bone and nerves and can transmit pain to the side of your face. The dry socket becomes inflamed, …show more content…
Nicotine used by smokers can decrease the blood supply in the mouth making a blood clot not form. Sucking a beverage through a straw or swishing too vigorously may make the blood clot dislodge. Another reason would be hormones, dense jawbone or poor blood supply would prevent blood clot from forming.
There are several risk factors that play a role in developing dry socket these include: Smoking which has nicotine which decreases the blood supply which is vital to healing.
Presence of impacted wisdom tooth, a female is more likely than a man due to hormones, and person who is over 30. When you age your jawbone density increases , there is less blood supply to help with forming a blood clot. Having wisdom teeth removed as soon as determined by a dentist is very important because waiting can cause problems if the tooth becomes infected. The dentist will treat the dry socket by gently irrigating the socket of debris. Then he will put an analgesic medicated dressing or packing over socket to cover the exposure of bone. This usually gives instant relief. You need to change dressing every couple of days and apply a dry socket paste to aid in healing a pain relief. A pain medicine may be prescribed for