Despite all the amazing advances in dentistry, sometimes teeth have to be extracted. One of the most common complaints after such an operation is pain. Unfortunately, it is impossible to avoid this phenomenon, because the tissues are injured, and it takes time to heal. This is a natural process - if a tooth is pulled out, the gum hurts. What to do after the operation and how not to aggravate the situation?
Causes of pain after tooth extraction
In fact, even the most experienced surgeon cannot remove a tooth in such a way as to completely relieve the patient of discomfort. The procedure itself is performed under local anesthesia, but within two to three hours after removal, the effect of the drug stops. Only the removal of milk teeth is relatively painless due to the peculiarities of their structure and the absence of roots. Even if we assume that you need to get rid of a perfectly he althy tooth, and this is a deliberately meaningless process, then the manipulations are associated with trauma to the soft tissues of the gums and the oral mucosa.
A dentist prescribes an operation to remove a tooth only if it is not possible to cure and restore it, therefore, we are talking about a neglected situation. This is associated with additional difficulties, so pain is inevitable: once a tooth is pulled out, the gum hurts. What to do in this case and how to determine how dangerous this pain is?
Normal dynamics of development and fading of pain
When the local anesthesia wears off, the patient's gums begin to hurt where the tooth used to be. Monotonous aching pain is considered the norm, slight swelling is possible. These phenomena disappear on average in three to four days, even if a molar was removed and the hole is large enough.
Nevertheless, the personal characteristics of the patient should not be overlooked: everyone has a different pain threshold, and pain of the same intensity can only be an annoying hindrance or almost unbearable suffering. The situation is aggravated by the inconvenient location of the focus of unpleasant sensations - you can’t put a bandage or compress on the gum, saliva interferes, an unpleasant aftertaste. In addition, when a tooth is pulled out, the blood continues to ooze for some time, a clot forms from it in the hole, which can look somewhat frightening. Dentists warn: Blood clot formation is normal and should not be removed!
Features of removing problem teeth
The most serious consequences appear after the removal of the so-called problem teeth. For example, if a dentist has tooperate on the gums to get to an unerupted wisdom tooth, or the process is complicated by suppuration, cysts. Sometimes the destruction of the tooth is so great that it falls apart, it has to be removed in parts. If such a serious and painstaking operation was performed, swelling and pain can be considered the least of the possible negative consequences.
If, after a visit to the dentist, the pain does not subside, but only becomes stronger, then doctors recommend not increasing the dose of pain medication, but returning to the specialist who performed the operation. You can go to another doctor and describe the situation: a tooth was pulled out so many days ago, the gum hurts, what to do if the pain does not decrease. An x-ray of the gums may be required in case there are pieces of bone left inside.
Complications after the procedure
The success of the procedure depends little on the position - the removal of the upper teeth is no more difficult and no easier than operations on the lower jaw. It’s just that for each case there is a different type of tool, and the result depends on their correct choice. The causes of complications after tooth extraction can be both patient errors and poor-quality treatment. In addition, inevitable problems cannot be ruled out, especially if the procedure turned out to be difficult.
If the hole after tooth extraction on the gum is filled with pus and necrotic tissues, then this phenomenon is called alveolitis. Another complication is trigeminal neuritis. It is almost impossible to predict in advance the likelihood of any of the complications, however, following the recommendations of the dentist after the procedurehelp to significantly reduce the risk.
Treatment errors
Not always the shortcomings of treatment are associated with the incompetence of the doctor. In some cases, a cyst located on the roots breaks off after tooth extraction and goes unnoticed in the soft tissues of the gums. Suppuration after this is almost inevitable, as in the case of accidentally leaving tiny fragments of bone tissue in the wound.
In cases where the surgeon has a lot of negative feedback from the clinic's clients, experts recommend considering other candidates. Dental clinics compete with each other, and serious attention is paid to the qualifications of doctors, because the choice of patients depends on them.
What is alveolitis and why is it dangerous
If the hole swells after tooth extraction and begins to fester, this is a clear sign of the development of alveolitis. Normally, the hole should be filled with a blood clot, which protects the injured tissue from external influences if it was a complex tooth extraction. Swelling is also normal, but it should be slight and decreasing. With alveolitis, the clot is completely or partially absent, food remains mixed with saliva, purulent inclusions are visible in the hole, white or yellow plaque can be seen on the gum around - tissue necrosis.
The symptoms of alveolitis develop progressively. The aching pain gradually increases (normally it should decrease), if after the tooth is pulled out, the gums swell, then with alveolitis the edema does not subside, but worsens. Maybethe temperature rises, accompanying problems begin, and the pain can spread not only to the jaw, but also towards the ear, eyes, shoot through the neck.
Dentists categorically do not recommend self-treatment and trying to clean the hole yourself - be sure to see a doctor! The doctor will thoroughly clean the hole, take a picture, if necessary, perform additional surgery, suture and cover the hole with a medicinal patch. After that, antibiotics must be prescribed. Self-activity and uncontrolled use of antibiotics, as a rule, do not bring a positive effect, since the cause of inflammation is not eliminated.
Trigeminal neuritis
Another unpleasant complication that occurs if a molar tooth was removed in the lower jaw is trigeminal neuritis. The pain at the same time is seriously different from normal, it is not aching, but sharp and even shooting through the entire half of the face, into the temple and into the neck. It becomes difficult to open your mouth, the pain syndrome can be aggravated by extensive swelling, even the skin on your face hurts.
For successful treatment, you must consult a doctor, after the diagnosis, medication is prescribed, which quickly relieves symptoms. The complexity of the process can be exacerbated by a combination of neuralgic lesions and inflammation - alveolitis may well develop in parallel with neuritis.
The main mistakes of patients after tooth extraction
In an attempt to relieve the condition after a visit to the dentist,patients may panic. If a tooth is pulled out, the gum hurts - what should I do, go to the doctor again, or try to cope on my own? And if simply rinsing with a decoction of medicinal herbs does not cause much harm, then trying to clean the hole yourself, remove a blood clot or apply a warm compress will only aggravate the situation.
Recommendations of dentists in most cases are the same: do not invent some incredible rinsing compositions. However, if you had a tooth extraction, how to rinse your mouth to get rid of the discomfort in your mouth? A solution of soda, so beloved by traditional healers, violates the notorious acid-base balance. It will be enough to clean warm water, boiled, you can add one drop of an alcohol solution of iodine to a glass of liquid to further disinfect. You need to rinse without fanaticism, without trying to wash the blood clot out of the hole. The main function of the procedure is to wash away saliva and food debris.
Unsaturated decoctions of medicinal plants, mainly chamomile, sage and calendula, will not harm. It is important that the decoction is carefully filtered from microparticles. Such rinsing brings relief if a couple of days after removal it is not possible to fully brush your teeth.
How to minimize possible problems
Is it possible to protect against complications even before tooth extraction? An experienced dentist will not undertake the removal against the background of any infectious disease in a patient. Banal angina is guaranteed to increase the likelihood of developmentalveolitis several times. If the throat is treated before the tooth extraction is scheduled, complications can be avoided.
If any process occurs in the body that can aggravate the condition, then it is advisable to first get rid of the infection, wait until the end of the flowering of allergenic plants, if there is a predisposition to hay fever. This is especially true if there is a complex removal with an opening of the soft tissues of the gums.
Finally, the most important recommendation of dentists: try not to bring your teeth to such a deplorable state that you have to remove them. In most cases, they can be salvaged before the problem becomes too big. The irrational fear of dentists should be consigned to the past, modern technologies and drugs have long made dentistry painless and safe.
