Dry sockets a dental condition that is found after operation in approximately 2 % to 5 % cases of teeth extraction. What occurs is that post teeth removal, the blood clot naturally formed to shield the vulnerable nerve and bone endings doesn’t form. This leaves the bones and nerves vulnerable to the effects of air, fluids and food leading to severe pain, spreading to the person’s face on the side of the teeth extraction. The condition involves usually the wisdom and the molar teeth.
Treatment
Prevention is the treatment
There’s in reality no treatment for dry socket symptoms as it’s a condition that appears and later disappears by itself. The goal of the medical treatment is eliminating and lessening of the pain.
Among males, people who use tobacco in any form are more prone to this condition. Smoking decreases the oxygen content in the blood and impairs the person’s natural ability to heal. Smokers are therefore encouraged to avoid smoking for a few days before to and after the surgery. Also the sucking movement may displace the blood clot from the area of tooth extraction.
In females, the use of pregnancy prevention pills adds to the risk of this condition. Higher estrogen levels that are linked with pregnancy prevention tablets dilute the person’s blood and prevent blood clot formation. Women are encouraged to abstain from taking the contraceptive pills for one week before and after the procedure. Or else they need to get their tooth removed in the last week of the menstrual cycle.
Coping with The Pain
Anesthetics are the chief medicines for reducing the pain levels. The usual procedure is to keep a patient on analgesics and inflammation reducing medication for 10 to 15 days after the surgery. To stop the contamination from spreading or turning worse, doctors suggest antiseptics while in severe cases antibiotics are recommended.
Medicated dressings are the chief treatment for this condition. The affected area is gently flushed with saline and later a medicated dressing is placed in the socket. This dressing soothes the area, lessens the aches and promotes the growth of newer tissues.