Wednesday, August 5, 2009

What on earth is dry socket?

Last week I asked for advice after an extraction I'd had. Several people mentioned that I might have and that they'd had 'dry socket' can anyone tell me what this is? What happens if it isn't treated etc.
Thanks
Answer:
For an extraction site to heal properly, it needs to be plugged up with a blood clot so that it will scab over and heal.If the blood clot falls out of the empty tooth socket after an extraction, bare bone gets exposed to the oral cavity and becomes inflammed. The resulting painful inflammation is called alveolar osteitis, otherwise known as "dry socket."If it isn't treated, it will continue to hurt a great deal and complications like an infected jawbone may result.Hope this helps.
It's when you have an extraction and the bone becomes exposed to air. It's pretty painful but the Dr. should have something to put over it if a dry socket occurs that will make it feel better instantly.
In dentistry, a dry socket is a layman's term for alveolar osteitis. The alveolus is the part of the jawbone that supports the teeth, and osteitis means simply “bone inflammation”. Alveolar osteitis (dry socket) refers to inflammation of the alveolar bone following extraction of the tooth.Alveolar osteitis is a painful phenomenon that most commonly occurs a few days following the removal of mandibular (lower) wisdom teeth. It is commonly believed that it occurs because the blood clot within the healing tooth extraction site is disrupted. More likely, alveolar osteitis is a phenomenon of painful inflammation within the empty tooth socket because of the relatively poor blood supply to this area of the mandible (which explains why dry socket is usually not experienced in other parts of the jaws). Inflamed alveolar bone, unprotected and exposed to the oral environment after tooth extraction, can become packed with food and debris.A dry socket typically presents as a sharp and sudden increase in pain commencing 2–5 days following the extraction of a mandibular molar, most commonly the third molar. This is often extremely unpleasant for the patient; the only symptom of dry socket is pain, which often radiates up and down the head and neck. A dry socket is not an infection, and is not directly associated with swelling because it occurs entirely within bone — it is a phenomenon of inflammation within the bony lining of an empty tooth socket. Because dry socket is not an infection, the use of antibiotics has no effect on its rate of occurrence.There is more. To keep reading visit the website below!Hope this helps!

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