Exploring Dental Tool Improvements

Hi, it's Mia Armonde here to talk to you about family dentistry. As my small family grew into a large one, I found myself at the dental office on a regular basis. Every six months, the kids would go into the dentist for a cleaning or repairs to their teeth. During that time, I took an interest in the various ways the dental tools were evolving. Tools used in the dental industry have grown in leaps and bounds in the last few decades. For example, my kids went from hearing the dental drill to wearing headphones that completely canceled out the sound. Each time we go back into the dentist, I take a close look at the improvements that have arisen since the last visit. The results are astounding. I will cover my findings on this site, so you can also enjoy the improvements to dental tools and techniques.

Four Questions About Dry Socket

Dentist Blog

Will you be having a tooth extracted soon, and are worried about dry socket? If so, you'll want to know the following things.

What Is Dry Socket?

The simplest way to explain dry socket is that it occurs when you extract a tooth and the socket is empty. There will not be a blood clot and the jawbone will actually be visible. Since there is no blood clot to provide protection to the jawbone, it will start to feel very painful after a few days of being in that condition. Dry socket may not be an infection, but it does take a while to heal and can feel very uncomfortable.

Why Does Dry Socket Happen?

The main reason that dry socket happens is because the blood clot falls out from the socket. When your dentist gives you specific instructions to not rinse out your mouth, spit, or drink through a straw, it is because they want to prevent the blood clot from becoming dislodged.

However, the blood clot may still fall out for other reasons. It's possible that your body actually dissolves the blood clot on its own prematurely. This can happen due to a variety of reasons, such as having an impacted wisdom tooth removed, surgical tooth extraction, or you have a history of smoking.

How Do You Prevent Dry Socket?

You likely will want to take all of the steps possible to prevent you from having a dry socket. The best thing that you can do is follow all care instructions after the tooth extraction, since putting pressure in your mouth can cause the blood clot to become dislodged. Your dentist can also prescribe you a special type of rinse that will make you less likely to get dry socket, though the rinse can cause temporary teeth staining as a side effect of using it.

How Is Dry Socket Treated?

Your dentist will want you to come into their office so that they can clean out the socket with a saline solution. A medicated dressing will likely be put over the socket to help reduce the pain that you are experiencing, even if it doesn't help the dry socket heal any faster. You might receive a prescription for pain medication to help ease the discomfort. Unfortunately, a dry socket will take about a week to heal on its own.

Reach out to a dentist in your area if you have questions or concerns about dry socket.

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22 April 2022