Tooth extraction and smoking

welshdent

McKneff wrote: »

I

Im really surprised that your dentist took your tooth out becasue of a scarcity of dentists, :eek: I'm sur most dentists would be horrified at this, surely a couse of antibiotics would have been the first choice.

Actually no. I obviously have not seen the patient but antibiotics are akin to gagging someone while hammering a nail in their hand. you cant hear the screams but there is still a nail in them. The best solution to a dental infection is to remove the cause namely the tooth (or if suitible the nerve). Antibiotics are a useful time gainer on occasions but not ideally 1st line treatment. I suspect the dentist in question felt there was a poor prognosis and leaving the tooth in may result in unnecessary pain and potential delays in treatment over the holiday period.

Fire_Fox

Smoking is a major contributor to osteoporosis ....

clb776

i had a tooth out a week ago, i quit smoking the same day! i didnt smoke at all the day of extraction, scared of toothache haha! but i also have a white spot and a bit of a white tongue now?! hope it isnt dry socket, cant b assed with toothache again tbh!! it does take a couple of weeks to heal, so im sure itll change alot over that time!

Payless_2

Well done clb776 :beer: If you had dry socket you would have known about it by now. Apparently it takes 2 - 3 days to emerge after the tooth is pulled.

I am going to try to quit in the new year. I am well aware that the main cause of my dental problems is smoking.

I think that I was panicking a bit last night. All seems well today but I hope that I haven't spoken too soon. The hole in the gum does seem to be covered by some flesh so I think that I have gotten away with it. I won't do it again (I'll not be smoking the next time). Now that I've thought about it you are boumd to have a white spot after an extraction as it should heal from the outside inwards.

kitekat

I got 3 teeth out a week ago and dentist said not to have fizzy drinks and from the 2nd day to rinse with warm salted water.My gums are still very sore and feels as if i have constant toothache.What is dry socket and what causes it?

Payless_2

Hi kitekat

From what I've read, dry socket is when a bit of the bone from your jaw shows through the gap where your tooth was becuase the gum has not healed over it properly. It's caused by the clot which is there to help the gums heal, being dislodged through sucking, hot drinks etc. But it is relatively rare and mainly happens to smokers (through sucking and toxins I suppose)

Apparently it is agonising so if you had it I think that you would have been back to the dentists by now. I suppose soreness is only to be expected with extractions. I only had one tooth removed and that was hanging on by a thread so the dentist didn't think that my gums would be sore for long.

I am no expert though. If you are worried I would go to the dentists

kitekat

Payless wrote: »

Hi kitekat

From what I've read, dry socket is when a bit of the bone from your jaw shows through the gap where your tooth was becuase the gum has not healed over it properly. It's caused by the clot which is there to help the gums heal, being dislodged through sucking, hot drinks etc. But it is relatively rare and mainly happens to smokers (through sucking and toxins I suppose)

Apparently it is agonising so if you had it I think that you would have been back to the dentists by now. I suppose soreness is only to be expected with extractions. I only had one tooth removed and that was hanging on by a thread so the dentist didn't think that my gums would be sore for long.

I am no expert though. If you are worried I would go to the dentists

Omg i must have this coz i felt something jagged in my gum a couple of days after extraction and i thought the dentist had left a bit of the tooth in by mistake so i went back and he said it was bits of bone sticking out,didnt say anything about dry socket.Every so often i get a searing pain in this area,i stopped smoking 2yrs ago.

Payless_2

I hope that you haven't but it would be an idea to get it checked out. It might just be a bit of food lodged in it and a mild gum infection.

I read about things like this and tend to overeact (which is what I did yesterday). i believe that you really would be in agony if you had this.

Toothsmith

Infected sockets do get better by themselves, and aren't really serious - just a bit painful (bit like a really bad ulcer.)

Just feeling a sharp bit of bone doesn't mean you've got one - you can often feel that after an extraction.

Smoking mucks up the blood supply to the gum area (It constricts blood capillaries) and so an infected socket is more likely to happen to smokers whether or not they have a fag or two in the period following the extraction.

If an infected socket sets in, there isn't really a lot that can be done about it, as antibiotics are carried in the blood, and so - with a poor blood supply - they wouldn't really be carried to the site of the problem. A dentist can put a dressing on it which would sooth it a bit, but other than that, it's just waiting for it to get better by itself - which it will do.

kitekat

Cheerz Toothsmith,couple of questions for you,do dentists do their own dental repairs on themselves or go to another dentist and why do dentists start asking questions when their hand and saliva sucker is in your mouth but dont utter a word to you when the work is finished.(smiles)