Expert: Frederick R. Liewehr DDS, MS, FICD - 2/17/2007

Question
my boyfriend had his tooth cut out Thursday and the swelling went down but he said that it feels funny. his still in quite a bit of pain took. the dentist gave him pain medicine but he's still in pain.  how should the area where he got his tooth cut out feel and look like & how long before he stops feeling pain?

Answer
This is not my field, Shay, as I am an endodontist, a root canal specialist. However, it is perfectly normal for someone to have pain following a surgical extraction. The gums were cut and the bone was ground away, so it will be sore for some time. However, if the pain is intense, as opposed to sore, he may have developed what is called a "dry socket". When the tooth is removed, a crypt is left in the bone where the tooth used to be. Normally this fills up with blood, so the hole is "plugged". Sometimes, and fairly commonly, the "plug" is lost for a variety of reasons, and this leaves an open hole in the bone which really hurts. Your dentist can put a medicated gauze in the hole that will make it feel better. As for how it looks, it sometimes looks pretty nasty, but that is normal, too. If it smells terrible, that may be an indication that a dry socket is being caused by bacteria. Don't forget salt water rinses and normal oral hygiene on the other teeth. The best thing is to drop by the dentist's office if the bad pain continues and see if he has a dry socket. I hope he feels better soon.

Dr. Liewehr