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Dry Socket Symptoms and Pain Treatment

If your child has had wisdom teeth surgery, or recently had a tooth removed, the area may not be healing properly, causing your child to experience dry socket and severe pain.

Keep reading to learn about dry socket pain treatment, or call the experts at Kool Smiles to make an appointment for you child today.

What Is a Dry Socket?

Normally, when a dentist removes your child’s tooth, blood fills the hole where the tooth was and clots to protect the bones and nerves underneath.

Sometimes, that blood clot gets lost or dissolves before the wound can heal, which causes extreme pain in both the hole and the nerves along the side of the face.

get dry socket pain treatment at Kool Smiles

What Are the Symptoms?

The Mayo Clinic lists these eight symptoms as possible signs your child is suffering from dry socket:

  • Your child has severe pain within three or four days of the tooth’s removal.
  • The blood clot in the tooth’s hole is partially or completely gone, making it look empty.
  • You can see bone in the hole.
  • Your child has extreme amounts of pain coming from the entire side of their face where the tooth was removed, including ear, eye, temple, neck, and hole pain.
  • Your child has bad breath or a bad smell coming out of his or her mouth.
  • Lymph nodes around your child’s jaw or neck are swollen.
  • Your child has a slight fever.

How to Prevent Dry Sockets

Preventing dry sockets is a simple task, as long as you properly care for the tooth extraction site. Here are some prevention techniques to keep your child’s extraction site clean during recovery:

  • Stick to soft foods and chew on the side of your mouth opposite to where the tooth was removed.
  • Drink water and try to avoid sugary beverages.
  • Avoid using straws for a week to prevent suction from dislodging the blood clot.

Instead of brushing right away, rinse your mouth with an antibacterial mouthwash to get rid of bacteria.

How to Temporarily Relieve Tooth Pain

While you should also see a dentist immediately if your child is experiencing pain, here are a few other ways to help relieve your child’s pain:

  • Look into over-the-counter pain medications (use as directed).
  • Place cold compresses on your child’s face for 15 minutes.
  • Have your child rinse with warm saltwater to remove food and clean out small wounds.
  • Place two drops of clove oil on a cotton swab and gently dab the affected area.

When to See a Dentist

It’s normal to experience low levels of pain or discomfort after a tooth is removed. However, if your child’s pain increases in the first few days, it’s time to contact your child’s dentist or oral surgeon.

Call Kool Smiles Today for Dry Socket Pain Treatment

Even though the exact causes of dry socket are unknown, it’s a very treatable condition.

If your child has increasingly severe pain and other symptoms of dry socket, call your local Kool Smiles office for treatment. If you need immediate attention, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

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Sources:

Colgate: http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/procedures/tooth-removal/article/dry-socket-prevention-after-extraction-0616

Medicine Net: http://www.medicinenet.com/dry_socket_overview/article.htm

Mayo Clinic – Dry Socket Definition: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-socket/basics/definition/con-20025990