Abscess, Extraction and Dry Socket - The 10 Year Tale

I have often found my self scouring the Internet looking for help, hints, tips and other experiences of the pain that is DENTAL. Maybe this tale will help others, or at least make them feel slightly more normal and that everything will be alright in the end, wont it?

The story begins some years ago, there were many instances of the abscess but I will not bore you with the gory details, suffice to say that I suffered extreme pain and went through root canal on the same tooth three times by 2 dentists - don't get me wrong they did a good job, so I am told. (Except the fact a second root canal generally NEVER works never mind three, sadists)

Lets skip forward a year to my holiday last year in Canada, felt a bit of tingling on the plane, quite a lot of pain off the plane, first dollars I spent were on you guessed it, Tylenol.

A couple of days of "if I don't admit it to anyone it will go away" a method I often tried with this abscess however it was not to be. I had to admit it, not good. So to my sisters cheery Canadian dentist I went, a far more pleasant experience than the ones here in Scotland! Got an x-ray "you have an abscess" duh, get to the point where I get antibiotics please.

The pain of an abscess for those who know is unlike any other, I broke my foot EXACTLY the year before and walked on it for 2 days before being told it was broken. Abscess reduced me to tears, not good. Not to mention ruining my holiday and time with family.

I also have to question why they insist on hitting the offending tooth with a small hammer like tool, it really makes it hurt much more. Please believe me, it's this tooth - no hammer treatment PLEASE!

So I had been on Antibiotics for 3 days (3 days on Holiday, no drink and my birthday - I told you my timing is always great) I was still in pain. I read on the Internet (bless it, bless it so) to rinse with salt water, yucky but productive! The next morning I awoke looking like Sloth from the goonies but NO PAIN. YA DANCER!

The next day I had grown a strange growth in my gum! Looks yummy but it was not. I was flying shorty after my gum gave birth to this strange lump and I was scared the whole way back the pressure would make it pop and my mouth would be filled with puss, luckily this was not to be.

Well I got home, safe and sound. Made an appointment with a NEW NHS dentist (had spent close to £2000 privately on this one tooth by this point) and went for a quick check up with new dentist. He advised getting a filling on the NEXT tooth in case there was a leak.

Nope.

A further year on *uncanny* there was another abscess and YOU GUESS IT, it hurt. And again, four weeks prior to another holiday!

Enough is enough I thought - tooth OUT NOW. I don't care if I look like a redneck, no more pain please. It is amazing how mentally draining dental pain really is. It really is.

On Monday (3 weeks before flying to Las Vegas) I had that sucker pulled out, oh yes I did! I felt good, sore but good - no longer will it be the bain of my existence, no more will it ruin special occasions or holidays, no longer to I have to becon to its every whim.

Hmm. Again, nope.

DRY SOCKET - THE AFTERMATH

No one told me there would be MORE pain, no one said I would REGRET having the tooth out, I was never advised there was pain almost AS BAD as the damn abscess...........

Leaving the dentist wee room, bleeding into my cupped hand he said "no drinking alcohol, no smoking and no exercise". Whatever you say doc! (which sounded more like Whaaaaaallaaa ooooo sshhshshshss cllllock) with some drool and blood thrown in for good measure. Oh and a nice piece of foamy stuff that I was to stay put for 15 minutes, grand!

Home I went, armed with Ibuprofen, 400 mg, ready to suffer pain for the last time. The pain was fine, more than bearable. Fine, at the back of my mind "its all worth it, I will never have abscess pain like that again".

During day 3 of hole face it was getting more painful by the hour, surely that is not normal. Day 4 - I was awake in agony and visit the dentist was a must, just to find ............

Dry Socket

"In dentistry, a dry socket is a layman's term for alveolar osteitis. The alveolus is the part of the jawbone that supports the teeth, and osteitis means simply “bone inflammation”. It is an irritation of the bone open to the oral cavity after the loss of or premature disintegration of the blood clot." - Wikipedia

When a blood clot has not formed and the area to the jaw bone is exposed.

Nasty, but not as nasty as the foul smelling clove tobacco looking like stuff that was stuffed up there to pack what was exposed. Clove clove clove, I stink - but OH! Instant relief!

It has been one day since the clove stuff was indeed stuffed and it has mostly all come out, a weekend of pain is ahead. I go back on Monday for a further packing. I have decided to have a beer tonight so we will see if that was a good idea. I am aware with Dry Socket there should be NO DRINKING, NO SMOKING, NO STRAWS, NO SPITTING and NO HOT DRINKS. Hell I am gonna try no 1 - drinking, it is cowal games after all.

I learned:

DO NOT DRINK BEER FROM THE BOTTLE, that's one they never told you! I do, it hurts, you feel instant pressure on the sore parts, not nice. Glass is required, be a lady! Sans Straw.

So that is us up to date, I will endeavour to keep you posted. The tooth will be auctioned on ebay, of course.

Ages on: All is well with the lack of tooth, there was some lumpy swelling and a return trip to find out why "alien pod" had grown back when the tooth was removed, the result was not known. I was advised there was a possible CYST that has caused this the whole time and to come back for further poking and proding. I never returned to the densitst and untill there is pain - I never will. I look like a sexy redneck now, sexy being sarcastic of course. BUT OH SO HAPPY!