If your tooth is really badly damaged, and nothing more can be done, an extraction will have to be performed. Dentists will do everything in their power to save living teeth, and not have to use prosthetics, but a time comes when the tooth is either dead, or is so infected or decayed that leaving it in is simply no longer an option, and it has to come out. Usually, the tooth will hurt like crazy right around this time as well, so patients are glad to be rid of the tooth. The problem is, the pain sometimes does not stop right there.
Usually symptoms start after 2-3 days of being symptom free. This is terrible, as just when one thinks that one is free from pain, finally, and the tooth is gone and the post operative swelling has started to go down, a terrible pain that is sometimes described as worse than anything sets in. This is what is commonly referred to as post extraction pain, and is a sign that something is wrong in the healing process, and the pain you feel is caused by the alveolus, which is a part of your oral environment that you may not know about. The teeth you have are in sockets, and these sockets are part of the alveolus. The alveolus consists of nerves,soft tissue and ligaments, and there is alveolar crest of softish bone as well. When you pull a tooth out of there, you can expect some pain.
Basically, if you are feeling pain one of two things could have happened.One is that the alveolus is exposed to air,which is immensely painful and will give you putrid halitosis as well. The other is that during the extraction, the alveolus itself was somehow hurt or damaged. This is not good news as this can lead to permanent nerve damage, even though this option hurts a lot less.
When the alveolus is exposed to the outside world, the condition is colloquially referred to as dry socket, and i medical terms it is called alveolitis, or affliction of the alveolus. The alveolus does not like air, it is an internal organ in that is likes to be covered in gingival tissue, and when this does not happen, it will react with extreme pain signals. This is because there are lots of nerve endings in there, and oxygen dries out this organ, causing it to shrivel and die. This is why maintaining the blood clot is so important. protective blood clot should form after extraction, and the healing process can occur underneath the blood clot. This clot will also become gongoval tissue, and if it gets removed, the socket will dry out.Sometimes, the blood clot is not big enough, and parts of your jawbone or your alveolus may hang out from underneath it. If this happens, call your dentist before the alveolus dries out, as this way you can prevent excruciating pain that you may not otherwise be able to.
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