Dry socket is an infection in your tooth socket after a tooth is extracted. The condition usually develops when a blood clot fails to form in the socket, or if the blood clot comes loose. Dry socket occurs in approximately five percent of all tooth extractions.

Normally, the blood clot that forms after a tooth is removed promotes healing, laying the foundation for the growth of new bone tissue. When dry socket occurs, this blood clot is lost and the infected, inflamed socket appears empty- hence the name. Nerves are exposed, and sometimes the bone is visible in the empty socket.

You may not have symptoms until three to five days after the extraction. Then, the condition will manifest itself as sever pain that doesn’t subside, often accompanied by what feels like an earache. You may also have bad breath and an unpleasant taste in your mouth.

-Keep you fingers and tongue away from the extraction site.
-Apply an ice pack to your jaw for the first 24 hours following surgery – on for 15 to 20 minutes and off for 30-40 minutes- to prevent pain and swelling and stop excessive bleeding.

Not rinse your mouth the day of surgery. The next day, you can rinse gently with warm salt water (one teaspoon of salt dissolved in a cup of warm water). Be sure to rinse and spit gently.