White in extraction site, what is it??

[nikki06]

Hi,

Im hoping someone can help me and put me out of my misery!!

I had my tooth (1st molar?) extracted on Wednesday at 3pm!
I ate some mash potato that night, brushed teeth as normal and noticed the tooth was bleeding a little when I lay down in bed.. & didnt get much sleep that night bcos of the pain and having to try to sleep upright!!

Yday, Thursday, I could only eat soft foods, but I spuidly rushed out that morning without brushing.. got caught up with stuff and ended up not brushing till the evening, but by then I could also do saltwater rinses. But I noticed after one rinse there was something whiteish on the top of the hole, I tried to gently get it out (thinking it was food) with a cotton bud dipped in saltwater but it wouldnt budge and only some dots of blood came off, but the cotton bud was smelly (when the tooth was still there, upon flossing the floss would be smelly )

Last night the pain was much worse I think, either that or being tired from having almost 2 sleepless nights made it feel worse, I dont know!
Its painful now to chew - occasionally my teeth around the extraction site have touched the uppers and thats been quite painful.. the extraction is throbbing too..
My cheek is still sore (the dentist said it would be), but during last night my left side of my face was painful, as was the whole left side of my teeth, I had headache and earache too.. I still have slight earache now. Is all that normal???
I took 2 nurofen at 7am and the pain did ease, but I cant be taking them every 4 hours like theyre sweets! .

My dentist said that the molar had the start of an abcess, and had it been left any longer Id need antibiotics before having it removed, I asked if Id need any antibiotics after it had been extracted and she said no bcos it will all be taken away when the tooth comes out... When she extracted the tooth she showed me a fleshy bit on the tooth - pointing out it was the abcess(??).

Ive googled 'white in extraction site'(!) and had some conflicting info:
'The white material is the blood clot; your rinsing has merely washed away the red blood cells and left the clotted fibrin material, which is white. This is normal, and is of no concern'.

The second:
'White color in the extraction cavity... This is generally food sticking into the cavity. Sometimes it may present osteonecrosis. If you have osteonecrosis, you generally experience pain, fewer, swelling, bad breath, etc. (e.g., it is a complication after extraction) and it needs to be treated locally and sometimes together with antibiotics. Thus, you should go back to the dentist who extracted the tooth'.

^it could be food as its white, and everything Ive been able to eat is white.. scrammbled egg, soft bread, mash!

Now Im hoping for me, its the first answer(!).. I would go back and see my dentist (if she were not levaing any day now!), and the fact her practise is over 40+ miles away.. I could see the GP but I suspect he'll just tell me to go and see my dentist.. Its a long way to go to be told its normal.. Either way, no one will see me till next week now.

If anyone can help Id be greatful!

 

[letsconnect]

Hi Nikki,

the top layer of skin over a wound in the mouth often dies and is shed. This dead layer of skin is whitish in colour as it does not have a blood supply. This is perfectly normal part of the healing process!

You can take nurofen as indicated on the packet you bought (usually every 4 hours, but I don't want to say anything wrong because they come in different strengths, so just check what it says the maximum dose is). It's easier to prevent pain than to stop pain once it has started, so don't worry about "overdosing" as long as you don't exceed the maximum recommended dose.

Stick to soft foods that don't require chewing for the next few days .

There are some tips for healing after extractions and avoiding complications here:

Healing after Tooth Removal

What should you do following tooth extractions? Find out about the healing process, and the do's and don'ts for a speedy recovery.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Well done for having gotten through this

 

[DrMike]

I agree with lets,
if you have an infected socket- you will know for sure- it is extremely painful- worse than toothache often.
Keep going with the rinses and painkiller. If you can get to a chemist- buy a chlorhexidine gluconate mouthmash eg corsodyl and rinse with that for a few days also. AVOID SMOKING!!! If the pain gets worse then call your dentist and ask to talk with her- she can advise you over the phone asto whether she wants you to make the trip to see her.
Mike

 

[nikki06]

..Oh dear..

I wished Id checked here before eatting my lunch and cleaning my teeth!
..it said on my bit of paper to clean around the teeth near the extraction site with a cotton bud soaked in saltwater (if brushing was too painful), so I did this.. I noticed as I was gently wiping around the teeth with the cotton bud that the white thing was moving, so I got a clean bud and gently wiped over (didnt poke) the extraction hole and the white thing came away onto the bud.. its now looking all red with only a slight off white colour in places, and I mean only slight.

Hope Ive not done anything wrong now!!

I remember having a broken tooth extracted about 10 years ago, and I had a wisdom out about 3.5 years ago with an emergency dentist at and NHS drop in centre.. both times I wasnt really given any after care instuctions, I know I didnt wash out with saltwater (didnt know I should), but both healed fine and I dont remember any pain!

..Now Im older and (trying to be) wiser(!), Im doing all I can to make sure this heals right.. I suspect I might end up doing more harm than good though.. and I sneezed this morning, and os paniced, thinking OMG that will have loosened the blood clot?!?!

Its difficult to know whats what, and what to do for the best when youre not a dentist!

Thank you so much for your replies, its put my mind at ease .. although now Im worrying bcos Ive removed it.... urgh....

 

[DrMike]

Relax- it sounds as if it is healing fine. if there is pinkish/reddish gum tissue starting to heal in the socket then it will gradually heal and close over. the white plug of tissue often dislodges. Although it is tender- i think that in 24-48 hours you will be feeling much better. what you are most likely feeling is what i call a 'healing pain'. it is tender in the same way as if you fell and cut your knees- you would expect to have tenderness for a while afterwards. its just the body's way of making sure that you dont poke too hard or chew on that area for a while. keep going with the salty mouthwash and i bet that after the weekend it will be feeling much better.