I am not "prescribing" meds to you but in my experience 875 per day of augmentin will not be enough. The original Rx probably was for 1 tab every 8 hours. This is more effective. Your symptom of a sore throat leads me to believe you have a secondary infection. Even a Phone call to your surgeon may get you a more appropriate antibiotic. In lieu of that, if you have enough augmentin, go to 1 tab every 8 hours.

Take care not to flush the extraction site too aggressively with your monoject syringe. Remember to use salty water with the syringe also.

For you to be this uncomfortable 6 days post op is most likely attributed to a dry socket and/or infection. Don't put the call off too long buddy.

875 it is...

More than likely a mild infection. Generally, if you have to wonder or ask if you've got "dry socket" you don't. If you get it you will know it. NO questions needed.....

Actually, I disagree. There are many grades of dry socket depending on how much cortical bone is exposed above the granular tissue invasion of the extraction site. I have seen and treated many dry sockets that were partially filled with granular fill and they benefitted from curettage and packing of gelfoam with a very small amount of eugenol on the foam.

Just my 2 cents

I'm glad a dentist has found this post.

Hey doc, I had dry socket, an expose gang of nerves, and a broken jaw from my horizontal impaction of number 32. Was in pain for three weeks until the tissue granulated up past those nerves. I'm now in week 4.
Just a big hole that food gets in. Still using Peridex daily.

The OMS guy that was covering on the weekend that I couldn't bear the dry socket pain was great. He packed it and gave me better meds. He ended up packing it 5 times in 10 days until enough tissue had granulated.
I learned that the pain management was a bigger job than the extraction. I think the packing with sedative dressing saved my life.

Im not a DDS, but I was trying to give Mcollinstn any info that I had. Didn't want him to end up like me.

I found that I tolerated mega doses of Ibuprofen well. They helped the pain and the swelling. I did a lot of salt water "holds" and rinses. They helped a lot.

I'm calling the damn doctor.

Owww.

Alright, called the emergency number, got the answering service, explained the problem. They told me doctor Maharajadeen (or something like that) was on call. I told them I didn't care if doctor Satan was on call. They said to expect a call in the next ten minutes. An hour later, I get a call from an Indian woman doctor who I could barely understand. She takes like 4 seconds inbetween words. She says "Dees ... ees ... dock ... tah ... moo ... hraa ... jah .... tee ... ?" I said, "Yes. Dr. Shea removed my four wisdom teeth Tuesday and I have considerable pain and need something done about it. Where do I need to meet you?"

She replies. "Ehh ... you ... call ... ... ... need ??" (or at least that is all I got out of it).

I repeated myself verbatim.

She says, " Yooo ... neee ... call ... suh ... jeeeen ... hooo ... pufooomed ... suh ... jeee."

"Excuse me? I said."

She says, " Yooo ... neee .... call .... din .... teees ... hooo ... pufoooomed ... work."

I said, " I DID call the dentist who performed the work. I called their emergency number and was transferred to an answering service who took my information and told me that YOU would be calling me. Now I am in considerable discomfort and I need to have somebody take a look at me to figure out what is going on."

She says, " Yooo .... neee ... call ... deen .... teees .."

I said, " I was connected to your answering service when I called the dentist, was this a mistake, or are you on call for the oral surgery group."

She says, " Yooo shooo go tooo muh jen see rooom."

I said, Thank you, and hung up.

Called the emergency number back, got a different attendant, they told me that Dr. McCloud was on call, and took my info (can't figure out what happened earlier, unless the call center software hiccupped or something). He called back within 3 minutes.

Told him the issue. He asked how long it would take me to meet him at the office. I said two minutes - he said, "give me ten". I said "Deal".

In and out very efficiently.

Verdict: Two dry sockets, both on the right side. Lower one completely dry (an acre of exposed surface were his words), upper one more or less 10% dry. Packed them in clove oil. Told me it would burn. Didn't burn, felt nice. Handed me a kit to do myself with instructions on what to do. Told me to come back tomorrow for another look. Also told me next time to not wait so long. Nice guy. (he said I could continue the antibiotics if I wanted to, but that he didn't think they were necessary - I told him I was gonna eat em up and play it safe.) Offered to refill my pain meds, but I told him if it wasn't going to get any worse than the way it felt with the packing, then there was no need.

Wow. Back home inside of an hour, 40 minutes actually.

Ahh.

INDIAN PACKETS!!!!! You should have listened to what I said 3 times!! You'd be out boating instead of talking to answering service in Bombay. I know facts are 5-10% only get dry socket. Hard for me to believe as me, wife and just about everyone else I know has had them. You're home free now MAC.....:)

I am glad you finally called.

The clove oil is the eugenol I mentioned earlier.

The issue at hand is the exposed cortical bone above the actual granulation invasion. The eugenol kind of numbs it into submission like a minor "embalming" in a crude analogy.

As fund razor mentions, NSAIDS (ibuprofen/motrin) are also of great benefit due to their inflammation reducing properties.

In my experience, most cases need only one visit such as yours. Fund Razor's must have been a very very traumatic extraction to require the treatment he received. Rare but it happens.

The amazing part is your incredible sense of humor through it all!

Actually, You are probably the most hilarious poster I have read on this board, and there are some funny people here.

You are funny in a "Dennis Miller" kinda way. I am sure you appreciate that I mean that as a sincere compliment.:D :D :D

You had me rolling on the check valve thread in the tech section!:D

Ha!

Yeah, sometimes I get on a bit of a roll.

Life's too short, eh?

Well, spent the rest of the day after the last post happily doing yard work with my boy. Never thought edging and blowing and such was so liberating. I can even chomp my teeth together and make noise with them without lightning bolts going off in my vision.

Long live clove farmers...

Thanks, you just taught me something. I've probably known maybe 13/14 people who have gone through dry socket with all the same results, agonizing pain. That's why I said what I said. Thanks for the info.

Hey, who says my pain wasn't agonizing...

I'm pretty tolerant of pain, especially when I am fairly sure that the hurting isn't causing any sort of additional damage. After knee surgery, the doctor had to tell the nurses to give me pain meds whether I wanted them or not cause my blood pressure was spiking up from the pain. I just don't see any big reason to be a whiner.

I spent Friday without pain meds cause I had to drive to the office and talk to an employee who had quit (after seventeen years of working for me) and was now crawling back wanting to beg for his old job back - or any job back, and I had to tell him in a coherent manner why I wasn't going to hire him back. I felt it was the least I could do for him before watching him drive off into the sunset to try to get a high paying craftsmanship oriented manufacturing job in this day and time. After the meeting, it was tempting to pop a couple of Mepergans but I really didn't want to be staring glassy-eyed with a stupid grin on my face as I drove my SL into the grille of a trash truck or something... When I got home, I feel fairly confident in saying that on a normal scale of pain, terms like agonizing and crippling and inescapable were applicable to the situation at hand.

I just hate to be one of the guys who raises their hand when the school marm asks who needs a little pain medicine.

Anyhow, I'm taking the 875 Augmentins 3x daily, 800 Ibuprofens 3x daily, and now that I have the magic clove oil I'll just be dipping little cotton tooth tampex into it every so often..



aaaahhhhhhhh.

I always like to read mcollinstn's post because of his insightful wisdom. After stumbling across that picture I was involuntarily forced to give up the ¼ pounder I just ate. Now I may have to put him on my ignore list for a while. :D:D:D

Roby

I'm still a good ways away from being able to eat a quarter pounder, so why should you be able to. That would be unfair.

If I ate one, it would pack all sorts of burger parts into my tooth sockets. Then I'd have to dig them out. BUT, then they'd be all compressed burger part pellets.

Sort of like little Burger McNuggets! Parts is parts...

Fries with your Burger McNuggets, sir?
Would you like to Supersize that?

Instead of a Happy Meal toy they could come with some Maalox and a little ziploc puke sack.

Am I onto something here, or what?

I learn something every day. Every time I learn something new, I realize how little I really knew in the first place!

I have learned way more on this board than I have had the opportunity to share (With any resemblance of authority). Finally a subject I know!!

:D:D That's vivid, I see you're taking full advantage of your perscription pain medication.


:D Roby

We,,,,,,,,,op,,,,,,ou,,,,,,,,,feel,,,,,,,bet-uh!!!!! :D :D :D

Damn,

I was hoping that it wouldn't happen to you, Mcollinstn.

Glad you have gotten some relief. The good news is, that you won't be in pain like you were a couple days ago any more.

The doc that helped me out was great, too.

I'm in my fourth week now. No more pain or soreness. Teeth stopped moving around. Now I just have to keep cleaning out the socket.

I really was hoping that you wouldn't get it.
As soon as I saw your post I said to myself.... no, no....

Aw hell. No biggie.

At least now I know that the pain is just an inconvenience and is not a sign of something counterproductive (secondary infection, growing pus pocket, teeth falling out, throat cancer, incremental damage from the wife slowly poisoning me over time, West Nile virus, sickle cell anemia, etc...).

As I mentioned before, I'm a trooper with pain as long as I know it is "just pain". Now I know that. The throat pain and ear pain and all that stuff was weirding me out for sure, until the doc told me that the brain just processes "extreme" pain over a wider area cause either the pain "signal" from the nerve regions is intense enough to "bleed over" to the other nerve "wires" to the brain OR the brain doesn't make sense of an intense level of pain from one area over time and spreads it out to make you do something about it (neuro guys still haven't nailed the mechanics of that phenom out yet).

So, now I just got to keep taking the meds for inflammation (and the antibiotics I plan to keep taking) and carry my little "kit" around with all my gear for doing a clove tampon "pitstop".

The giant holes in my jaws are a significant hassle.

I have a friend who deals in "synthetic skin" that is used for burn victims and stuff like that. They've sold this stuff to doctors for all sorts of weird applications like pecker enhancements, cosmetic surgery, trauma room stuff where horribly damaged internal organs are wrapped with this stuff to hold them together so they can heal...).

I'm gonna tell him to look into the possibility of applying this stuff in a dental application to fill the tooth holes so people can "get on with it" and not have to play excavator after every meal for a damn month of Sundays.

Might not lend itself to being a valid application - but I'm gonna turn him on to it anyway. Might be something they can "tweak" an existing product and make it suitable.

Insurance probably wouldn't spring for it, but I guarantee you I'd have paid an extra couple hundred out of my wallet for it.

hmm.

My dentist used a pre-fabbed packing kit with a gauze that was impregnated with the goodie. This special gauze pretty much filled the socket and would keep stuff out of the hole. (With careful eating)

Top Ten foods for people who can't chew:

10: Mashed potatoes
9: Scrambled eggs
8: Tuna rolled into little balls and popped like pills
7: Hummus
6: Applesauce
5: Armor chicken spread (do it like the tuna)
4: Did I mention mashed potatoes?
3: Drink Poweraide
2:More scrambled eggs
1: Carnation instant breakfast

you forgot:

* Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese. The noodles are small enough that you can swallow the mouthful without chewing.

* green beans, canned. You don't have to chew them, just give them a squeeze with your teeth (or gums if you aint got no choppers) and they split down the seam and burst into two halves and the little bean thingys in them. Can then swallow.

* yogurt (fruit on the bottom). Can dredge up whatever level of fruitiness you desire.

* Won Ton Soup. Minus the won tons.

* Any CHEAP soup. Campbell's regular variety works. The premium soups have pieces large enough you have to chew them. The cheap stuff can be drank like a milkshake.

* Milkshake. Can be drank just like cheap soup. Best if let melt some if the cold causes discomfort.

* Bread pudding. With raisins. And that hot glaze stuff they drizzle on it. Ain't gotta be TOO OLD to eat that stuff. Yum.

* Pudding. See "Snack Pack". In my opinion, Jello pudding in the plastic containers just isn't as good. Any pudding you have to cook is good, but the instant mix and fridge pudding leave me quite unfulfilled.

* Scrambled eggs with cheese. Does a better job of staying on your tongue instead of getting in the tooth holes.

* Quarter Pounders. Great for providing the basis for Burger McNuggets, my next get rich quick scheme...

Today's update: Clove packings provide an effective pain barrier for exactly 5 hours, at which time they become completely used up and provide no relief whatsoever. That 5 hour mark arrived at 1:24pm. I was finally able to leave the office at 4:17pm. I had to make three critical stops on the way home and entered the home at 5:29pm. Took me two minutes to swap out the clove packing. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

ohhhh, how long are we gonna milk this thing? hee hee:p ;)

I'll keep posting about it till I get bored with it.

Then I'll hop on somebody else's thread and hijack it.

[COLOR=darkblue]Good Morning McCry-Baby,, :D :D Hope the Grand-Canyon's are feeling better today!!!!
Pull out your Daily Planner and ink in Sat. June 12th for your Trip North, to Ky. Lake!!! We are putting together a Poker/Fun Run for that Date!!! We just learned that Mid-America isn't coming this year,, so we decided to take on the Task our-selves!!! We will be Taking off from Ky-Dam Marina,, its right off of I-24 , about 2 minutes south!! I'll keep you posted when more details become Avl.

Ive been trying to buy Clove-Tampon Stock all Morning, to no Avail,,,,,you'll probably drag this out another 6 months :D :D :D :D

Mitch & Tracey

waaaaaahhhhh oowwwwwww
OH, it's you.
I thought you were my wife.

Hmm. June 12? My birthday's the 10th, gotta make sure that some national level party planning hasn't already begun...

KyDam Marina? Isn't that the Marina that the Leepers own? (no, I didn't say lepers, the Leeper family..) Good people.

Sounds fun. Keep me in the loop.

** back to your regularly scheduled program **

ooooowwwwwww waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh
ooooooooooooooooooooo ummmmmmmmmmmmmm

(the dentist gets another dose of me at 3:30 today. I'm confident that pictures of my mouth will soon be on the covers of all the major dental medical journals in next months issues...)