Dry socket after upper wisdom tooth extraction?

[DaggerBlaze]

Hi there! I had a bottom wisdom tooth extracted in November. I am allergic to codiene so when I got dry socket, all I could take was paracetemol and ibuprofen. The dentist couldn't offer me any pain relief medication and my doctor's office basically just thought I was scamming them for painkillers when I rang them begging for something. I was in so much pain I just cried to myself for the first few days and eventually my mental health slipped. The best fun was returning to work in so much pain that I just didn't bother speaking to anyone at all, during lockdown.

Rather horribly I'm getting another wisdom tooth pulled Thursday.

My question is, is Dry Socket as common in the upper wisdom teeth as it is in the lower ones? And is there any way I could avoid it?

It took me until February to recover physically and mentally from dry socket soooooo kind of hoping I could avoid it this time Any tips appreciated!

[hypercat54]

I empathise as I have suffered a dry socket once and the pain was indescribable! Unfortunately with me it happened over one Christmas when the dentists were closed. The first day they reopened I was straight in and after some stuff was put in the hole the pain stopped completely.

If it's any consolation I have had a number of teeth removed and this is the first one I have ever suffered. I always follow dentists instructions so I guess this was just bad luck.

[Windsorgardener5087 in reply to hypercat54]

Dry sockets are a risk from removing teeth. It's my understanding it occurs if you lose that clot that forms immediately after extraction. It was probably easier to drop out from a top tooth. In your lower jaw, gravity tends to work more for you. My oral surgeon prescribed Tapendol (Palexia) after surgery. It might be an option for you. It is strong medication but if you need more based on history then so be it.

[hypercat54 in reply to Windsorgardener5087]

Yes I know. Did you mean to reply to the poster?

[DaggerBlaze in reply to hypercat54]

Hi there! Gosh that sounds horrible....you poor thing....I'm hoping I can avoid it but I guess I won't know till after it's out. Was it a top tooth or bottom tooth that caused the dry socket for you?

[hypercat54 in reply to DaggerBlaze]

It was a bottom tooth. Actually it was just the root which kept getting infected so the dentist took it out. That's why they tell you not to eat or drink for 2 hours afterwards. Like I said I always follow instructions but it still happened to me. Fortunately it is the only one I have ever had.

I found the only thing which helped a bit was Orajel whch you can get at the chemist. You put it around the area and it helps numb it a bit but it was still unremitting agony for 4 days and ruined the holidays for me.

[DaggerBlaze in reply to hypercat54]

Bless you...you poor thing. Yeah I feel like my easter is basically screwed....last time I had dry socket I was in agony for two weeks until I asked what I should do here and someone advised me to go get my gum packed, which helped a bit but wasn't a magic fix unfortunately. Though I will say that I also had a pretty bad infection there before and during the removal so maybe this time it might be better as there is no infection. Thanks for sharing your experience!