Adult teeth should last you through your entire adult life. Unfortunately, for some, there are instances when a tooth needs to be extracted.
Although the extraction of a tooth is generally the last thing we want to do, sometimes, it’s unavoidable. When a tooth is extracted, there is a space in place of what was once your tooth, and in that space, a small hole.
The amount of time required for this hole to heal depends on a few factors. We are going to look at how long it takes for some of these holes to close.
What Types of Extraction Are There?
At Dental Partners of Boston, we perform two types of extractions:
- Simple Extraction – This is one of the most common extraction procedures. This extraction is generally performed on the canines, incisors, premolars, and first and second molars.
- Surgical Extraction – The surgical extraction is generally done for teeth that are securely trapped in the jawbone, like wisdom teeth.
How Long Does The Healing Process Take?
When it comes to the amount of time required for a hole to heal completely depends on a number of factors. These can include the type of extraction, size of the tooth, and difficulty of extraction.
A Small Tooth
If the extracted tooth is a small tooth or a tooth with only a single root, the hole will close relatively quickly. A single root tooth should begin to heal by the end of the first week. You may find, by the second week, you should be able to eat more comfortably without fear of food entering the crevice.
A Larger Tooth
If the removal required the extraction of a larger tooth or a tooth with more than a single root, the healing time will be slightly longer. A larger, multiple-rooted tooth extraction hole will heal around the third week. One thing that should be noted is that the hole may still feel prominent for a few months after the procedure.
Wisdom Tooth
The wisdom tooth is an impacted tooth, so the healing time of this hole will always be slightly longer. The difference with the healing of a wisdom tooth is that it’s not just the healing of gum tissue. The wisdom tooth extraction also means your jawbone has to heal as well. The healing time after the removal of an impacted tooth is generally around six weeks.
What To Pay Attention To
There are certain factors that can delay the healing process of any extraction hole. These include:
- Smoking
- Certain Medications
- Blood Thinners
All of these can cause an increase in healing times.
Schedule An Appointment Today
If you have any questions or concerns about healing times, or if you need us to look at a tooth that may need an extraction, contact Dental Partners of Boston. You can also schedule an appointment online. We are on hand to help with any of your dental needs. We look forward to helping you improve your smile!
What is a Dry Socket?
A dry socket (alveolar osteitis) occurs when the bone underneath an extracted tooth becomes exposed and inflamed. Dry sockets are most common after wisdom tooth removal and can cause severe pain.
A tooth socket is a hole in the jawbone where a tooth was previously located. After a tooth is removed, a blood clot forms in the socket, similar to a scab. This blood clot gradually turns into new bone and gum tissue as part of the healing process.
A dry socket occurs when the blood clot is lost or prevented from forming. When the blood clot cannot form properly, the bone and nerves are exposed to the air, which causes severe pain and delays healing.
Dry socket occurs in approximately 1 to 5% of all extractions and up to 38% of wisdom tooth extractions. They commonly develop in:
- The lower jaw
- People older than 30 years
- Females
- Teeth that were infected before surgery
What Does a Dry Socket Look Like?
A dry socket appears as a hole where the tooth was removed. You will see the bone that once surrounded the extracted tooth. The opening where the tooth was pulled may appear empty, dry, or have a whitish, bone-like color.
The socket bone can be exposed entirely or can be covered by food debris or clumped bacterial material. When surrounded by food debris or bacteria, the socket can appear in various colors, including black, yellow, and green.
By contrast, a socket with a blood clot that is healing properly should appear dark red. As the blood clot continues to transform into new tissue, it should gradually blend in with the rest of your gums.
Medical Images of Dry Sockets
What Causes a Dry Socket?
A dry socket forms when the blood clot does not form, dissolves, or dislodges before the extraction site heals.
According to Dr. Nandita Lilly, one of NewMouth's in-house dentists, "the highest risk for dry socket is within the first 4 days after surgery."
Common risk factors for dry sockets include:
- Bacteria or an infection in the area
- Trauma due to a complicated extraction, like an impacted wisdom tooth
- Food particles that collect inside the socket
- Mechanical motions such as smoking, sucking through a straw, or aggressive rinsing and spitting
- Nicotine, alcohol, and carbonated drinks
- Changes in hormones due to menstruation or contraceptives
Symptoms of a Dry Socket
Symptoms of dry socket include:
- Throbbing pain that radiates from the socket and can extend up to the ear, eye, temple, or neck on the same side of tooth extraction
- Unpleasant taste in the mouth
- Bad breath or a smell coming from the mouth
- Slight fever
The pain from a dry socket typically begins within the first 2 to 4 days after extraction, and it can last several weeks.
If you had a tooth extracted more than a week ago and haven’t experienced this kind of pain, the clot has probably already begun to heal. This means you’re unlikely to develop a dry socket.
Dry Socket Treatment
If you begin to experience symptoms of a dry socket, contact your dentist or oral surgeon as soon as possible.
Professional treatment for a dry socket typically consists of the following steps:
- Clean the extraction site with sterile saline (saltwater) and scrape the socket to promote blood flow.
- Fill the socket with medical dressings. This helps prevent any new food particles and debris from entering the tooth socket.
- After the dressing is placed, you must visit your dentist regularly to have it changed during the healing process.
- Your dentist may prescribe you antibiotics, pain medications, a special mouthwash, and/or irrigation solutions to assist in healing. You can also take over-the-counter pain relievers.
- Gently rinse your mouth with lukewarm saltwater a few times a day and after meals. Avoid alcohol-based mouthwashes, as they increase the risk of dry socket.
To care for a dry socket at home, you should:
- Take pain medicine and oral antibiotics as prescribed
- Apply ice to the jaw
- Carefully rinse the dry socket as recommended by the dentist
- Apply clove oil to the extraction site for pain relief
- Eat soft foods until fully healed
- Refrain from smoking or drinking alcohol
Oral antibiotics do not significantly decrease the risk of dry sockets because there are hundreds of bacteria types in the mouth. For that reason, you can still develop a dry socket even if you have good oral hygiene.
How to Prevent Dry Sockets
There are a few ways to prevent a dry socket from forming. The most important things to avoid are smoking, sucking motions, and drinking through straws. Your dentist will probably also advise you to avoid strenuous exercise while the area is still healing.
You should also make sure to rinse your mouth gently because aggressive rinsing/spitting can make the blood clot fall out. Do not brush the extraction site for at least a week post-op. Only gently brush the neighboring teeth around the extraction site.
Your diet can also play a role in preventing a dry socket from forming. Until the extraction site heals, you should:
- Stick to soft foods like smoothies, eggs, soup, and mashed potatoes
- Refrain from drinking hot liquids, carbonated drinks, alcohol, and caffeine
After having a tooth extracted, your dentist or oral surgeon will give you instructions like the ones above. These instructions are intended to help your mouth heal and prevent a dry socket from forming. Be sure to follow them carefully.
- What is a Dry Socket?
- What Does a Dry Socket Look Like?
- What Causes a Dry Socket?
- Symptoms of a Dry Socket
- Dry Socket Treatment
- How to Prevent Dry Sockets