Tooth extraction is not a pleasant process. Painful sensations and swelling of the gums after extraction of a tooth are an adequate response of the body to the operation. Usually, unpleasant symptoms increase 3-4 hours after the effect of the anesthetic drug wears off. Normally, pain, swelling, redness of the mucous membrane after a conventional extraction are observed for another 2-3 days; after a complex extraction, symptoms persist for 3-5 days. If your gums hurt after tooth extraction after 7 days or longer, you need a medical examination.
Why does my gum hurt?
Unexpressed aching pain and slight swelling of the gums appear due to injuries to soft tissues, nerves, and jaw bone when removing a tooth from its bed. The gum tissue swells, the nerve endings are compressed, hence the pain. How much your gums hurt after tooth extraction depends on:
- Patient's pain sensitivity;
- degree of complexity of the intervention;
- features of the clinical case;
- location of the dental unit (after extraction of molars, the injury is greater, the pain lasts longer);
- state of immunity.
The body’s normal response from the development of complications is distinguished by the following properties: the pain does not intensify, pathological symptoms are present for no more than 7 days, and no other signs of deterioration in well-being are observed.
Should I treat or remove my wisdom tooth?
Wisdom tooth removal
Late eruption of a wisdom tooth and the lack of a “prepared” place for it can lead to unpleasant consequences of varying severity, including caries of the eight itself and the teeth adjacent to it, pericoronitis, displacement and damage to nearby healthy teeth, malocclusion, inflammation of the gums, periostitis and much more. other.
It is technically possible to cure such a tooth, but sometimes it is very difficult. Therefore, dentists act as follows: if the erupting wisdom tooth does not lead to any pathologies, it is left in place. Sometimes it can even be useful in the future, for example, as an abutment tooth in bridge prosthetics.
If the figure eight erupts with problems and, moreover, turns into an impacted tooth, then they try to remove it, and sometimes this requires serious surgical intervention with cutting the gums and drilling the tooth out of the bone tissue (if it has not erupted or has only partially erupted).
How long does your gum hurt after tooth extraction?
Normally, after 1-3 days, tissue swelling gradually decreases, pain goes away, and health improves. Already on the 3-4th day, the blood clot is gradually replaced by granulate, and after a week it fills the entire hole. After tooth extraction in the upper jaw, the recovery time is identical to the lower jaw, but bone regeneration in the upper dentition occurs more slowly.
In some clinical cases, the surgeon may cut the gum and drill out the jaw bone. Typically, such manipulations accompany the extraction of the outer eighth molars (wisdom teeth). Then healing takes longer than after a simple operation.
If 5-7 days after the intervention the pain does not decrease, but rather becomes more intense, you should consult a doctor. Acute, nagging, constant pain after tooth extraction can be a symptom of complications.
The tooth socket heals in approximately 2-4 weeks. Recovery time depends on the parameters of the wound and the body’s reaction to the removal procedure. Bone volume is restored approximately 6 months after the intervention.
Removal of a wisdom tooth on the lower jaw
Most people of conscious age go to the dentist because of problems with their lower wisdom teeth.
They often interfere, put pressure on neighboring molars, and cause discomfort or pain after eating. Most often, wisdom teeth in the lower jaw appear between the ages of 20 and 25, although the timing varies from person to person; for some, they may appear at the age of 16, for others closer to 40 years. In most cases, the appearance of figure eights is accompanied by various complications that require their removal. Malocclusion, difficulty in teething, tumors and trauma to the mucous membrane and much more.
What happens if you ignore pathological pain
The appearance of pain always signals a problem in the body. If the tooth was removed long ago, and the pain persists or increases, this is evidence of a complication. Pain may be associated with:
- Increased body temperature;
- severe swelling, redness of the mucous membrane;
- halitosis;
- purulent discharge from the socket;
- white or gray coating on the mucous membrane;
- enlargement of the submandibular lymph nodes;
- pain while swallowing;
- restriction when opening the mouth.
In this situation, you should see a doctor immediately.
Ignoring alarming symptoms is fraught with serious problems, such as abscess and osteomyelitis. These are serious pathologies that require timely, qualified treatment.
Tissue damage
During extraction, soft tissue is inevitably damaged. Sometimes the doctor even has to cut the gum to gain access to the unerupted crown. Until complete healing, the wound may be slightly painful, and the tissue around it will remain red and swollen for some time. The pain can radiate to neighboring crowns or even ears. If the discomfort becomes less pronounced every day, swelling and redness subside, there is no need to worry.
You should urgently seek medical help if:
- inflammation and pain intensify,
- not only the soft tissues in the oral cavity swelled, but also the cheek,
- there was an unpleasant taste in the mouth,
- pus is released from the wound.
All this indicates inflammation of the tissue in the hole.
How to get rid of pain at home
To eliminate postoperative pain, the dentist will prescribe analgesics and cold compresses on the side of the intervention. Additionally, you can use traditional methods - mouth baths made from tinctures or herbal decoctions. Baths with an antiseptic drug are also allowed (the solution must be held in the mouth for a while and spat out). What is strictly forbidden:
- warm the operated area;
- rinse your mouth intensively (you can wash out the blood clot);
- chew on the injured side;
- “check” the hole using your tongue, fingers, and apply medicine to it.
The risk of complications depends on the complexity of the operation to remove a dental unit. Simple extraction is carried out if the tooth does not have strong, intertwined roots, it is intact, and there are no associated problems (cysts, pulpitis, periodontitis, etc.).
Extraction of dystopic teeth, which are very crooked, have intertwined, crooked roots, with a destroyed coronal part, and with an inflammatory process, is considered difficult. In such cases, a more extensive operation may be necessary with a preliminary incision in the gum, sawing the tooth into elements, extracting fragments through a hole in the jaw bone, and applying sutures. Molars are usually difficult to remove. If your gums hurt for several days after the removal of a molar, but the painful symptoms are smoothed out, then the wound is healing normally.
Pain in the tooth socket after extraction
If the tooth extraction operation is adequately carried out and all the dentist’s recommendations are followed, then after a couple of days the tooth socket should heal painlessly. A plaque forms at the site of damage, which is gradually covered by epithelial tissue as new bone tissue begins to grow.
And if pain persists after these days, it means that due to a combination of circumstances, inflammation has begun in the injured area (alveolus). In medical terminology, this process is called post-extraction alveolitis or alveolitis of the socket.
Etiology of alveolitis
After the tooth is removed, the created cavity should be filled with blood, which after a short time will transform into a special blood clot. Such a clot forms a biological barrier against all kinds of mechanical damage and infection.
But in some cases, the integrity of the blood clot is disrupted or for some reason it is completely absent, then the healing process is disrupted. In this regard, the development of alveolitis of the socket begins, which appears already on the third day and is accompanied by pain.
The main reasons for its occurrence and development are considered to be:
- Incorrectly performed surgery with violations of antiseptic rules, involuntary involvement of dental plaque in the socket, etc.
- Insufficient treatment of the postoperative socket, as a result of which small particles of tooth or pathological tissue remain in it.
- Complexity of the operation.
- Insufficient or complete absence of outpatient procedures for oral care recommended by a doctor.
- Failure to comply with simple hygiene standards.
- Eating food (especially spicy, hot or rough) before the recommended time.
- Self-medication by rinsing on the day of removal.
- Smoking in the first hours after tooth loss.
- Weak immune defense of the body.
- A number of common diseases that can affect the development of the inflammatory process.
Post-extraction alveolitis is dangerous due to severe consequences and complications. Therefore, this procedure must be approached responsibly and trusted to experienced and adequate specialists.
Symptoms and their manifestation
Usually, with a “dry” socket (no blood clot), the inflammatory process begins quite quickly after removal. Residues of food and saliva may be observed in an unprotected formation. Redness of the nearby gums is noticed, touching which causes pain.
If you do not seek medical help in time, the symptoms become more noticeable and are accompanied by:
- not soothing, rather severe pain in the damaged area;
- general condition worsens with rising temperature;
- a feeling of pain spreading throughout the entire jaw;
- the appearance of pus in the wound, resulting in a purulent odor from the mouth;
- formation of black plaque on the gum and socket;
- The submandibular lymph nodes gradually enlarge.
Emergency treatment at home
If the first signs of alveolitis appear and you cannot see a doctor within two to three days, you can try to alleviate the symptoms of the disease yourself.
It is important to remember that not all methods, drugs or folk remedies can cause relief. Some may even make the condition worse. For example, such well-known antiseptics as hydrogen peroxide or soda, on the contrary, will clean the infected hole beyond recognition, freeing it from blood clots, so that it will remain completely defenseless for infections.
If you can contact a specialist, you can use some types of analgesics to relieve pain. These include Baralgin, Ketanov or something similar. To relieve inflammation, you can rinse with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or furatsilin.
But natural antiseptics can be the most effective at home. Consider some folk recipes that have worked well for this disease.
Remedy No. 1
The herbal mixture has a good effect. Flax seed, blessed knycus, creeping tenacious (grass), blue cornflower (flowers), oregano, sunflower petals, are crushed and mixed in equal proportions. Then a spoon (tablespoon) of the crushed collection is filled with one glass of boiling water. The hour is running out. The strained mixture is divided into 4 doses and drunk throughout the day. Good reviews when using this decoction in the form of inhalation.
Remedy No. 2
Pour two tablespoons of St. John's wort (herb) and a spoonful of chamomile (flowers) into half a liter of boiling water and leave covered for two hours. Strain the resulting mixture and rinse your mouth with it at least every hour.
Remedy No. 3
A spoonful of medicinal sage is poured into a glass of boiling water. Brew for an hour in a thermos or wrapped in a thick thick cloth. After straining, rinse your mouth as often as possible throughout the day.
Remedy No. 4
A spoonful of dried chamomile flowers is poured into a glass of boiling water and steamed in a thermos for half an hour. Carefully filter and use as a rinse throughout the day.
Remedy No. 5
A decoction made from calendula (flowers) has an effective effect. A spoonful of flowers is poured with 200 ml of boiling water and steamed for half an hour. Then strain and rinse all day.
Of course, traditional methods of treatment can be effective, but it is better not to do without consulting specialists.
