Preventing Dry Sockets

Tooth extractions are ideally rare, but when they are necessary, we at Healthy Smiles Family Dental see our patients through safely. Many adolescents need to have their wisdom teeth removed to prevent alignment problems, and extractions are sometimes done on teeth with pulp infections after root canal treatment has proven unsuccessful. But in emergency situations, tooth extractions may not be preplanned, which is why we want our patients to be familiar with how to prevent a dry socket.

A simple extraction is one in which the tooth is wiggled loose until it can be pulled out with pliers. A complex extraction is one requiring an incision to be made into the gum tissue. Dry sockets are likelier to result from complex extractions. When a tooth is removed, a blood clot ordinarily forms to seal off the socket, protecting it from pathogens and keeping moisture locked inside. A clot may have more difficulty forming over a surgical incision, or it may come loose more easily.

Prior to the extraction, we’ll ask patients for a detailed list of their medications, since some can interfere with clotting. Patients will have to avoid smoking or sucking through straws while the empty socket closes, or else the clot may dissolve or be torn out of place. If a patient feels intense pain forty-eight hours after the extraction, they should call us for an emergency appointment. We’ll remoisturize the socket and treat it with antibacterial gel. But in most cases, the socket closes without incident after about a week.

Drs. Na Xu and Mark Thomas operate Healthy Smiles Family Dental at 2601 25^th St SE #400, Salem, Oregon, 97302. Visit My Family Dentist Salem or call 503-385-1185.