Day 9 wisdom teeth extraction - Deep throbbing pain at night

[FJW]

I had two lower wisdom teeth extracted last Saturday (07/03) morning. They were fully erupted, but pushing against the 2nd molars. They had cavities, but I had no pain, infection etc from them. The teeth were quite close to the nerve in the lower jaw, but the oral surgeon wasn't overly concerned. Other than need a fair few LA injections, but the extraction itself was pretty straight forward and each tooth took a couple of minutes to extraction. The recovery has been pretty straight forward, and I am eating normally (I do chop things up smaller than before and I'm not eating anything super hard). The only thing I get is a fairly intense, deep throbbing pain on one side across my jaw, extraction site and cheek at night. I've had it since the beginning but thought it would be settling down by now. The extraction site in question did have a small clot which is now not visible (the one on the other side had a much larger site and has now been covered). I did think about a dry socket but it doesn't fit any of other symptoms - intense pain that doesn't go away with OTC painkillers (it does), foul taste (no), bad breath (no). I have no fever, or heat in the area. In fact putting a heat pack on it helps. I do have slightly TMJ.

Any ideas? It's not the really bad but it is disturbing my sleep and then I have a tense jaw for a while afterwards. Or is this normal?

 

[letsconnect]

Hi, good to hear that the extraction and recovery have been pretty straightforward ! Occasional throbbing or stabbing pain is normal during the healing process. To give you some idea of the timeline, it usually takes gum tissue about 3-4 weeks to heal, the hole in the gum can last for up to 3 months, and the bone can take up to 6 months to heal. Depending on how intense the pain is, it may be worth giving your dentist a call to check if this is to be expected (each case is different so it's best to ask the person who's actually seen you).

 

[FJW]

Thanks for your reply! It's wasn't worrying me to the point I was going to contact the dentist. If it was still like this in a week, then I might. It was more it mainly happened at night, and not during the day. Do you think there could be any reason this happens?

 

[FJW]

Does this look normal? The other side has a very visible clot. This side the clot was very small but visible.

 

[letsconnect]

Does it happen when you're lying down, or just generally in the evenings? Lying down increases blood flow to the jaw, which may cause pressure and throbbing. Or it could be that you're not as distracted and occupied with other activities at night, which can cause us to focus on bodily sensations more. Or else it could be the pain medication wearing off. I can't see a picture, but generally speaking, extraction sites can look a bit grisly and the appearance doesn't mean much - it's more the actual symptoms (increasing pain, pain that isn't helped by over-the-counter painkillers, a foul smell) that indicate that something isn't right.

 

[FJW]

When I'm lying down. It fades quite quickly when I'm up. Brushing my teeth helps (guessing something about massaging the gums and helping blood flow).

Thank you so much for all of your help. Hopefully the photo has attached this time