Sharp pain in my tooth, help?

HELP:Still in extreme pain 2 days after extraction. Is that food in the "dry socket"/"tooth site" (PICTURES)?

• Hey everybody! My name's Mary and I'm 18 years old. So, 2 days ago I had a tooth extraction (inferior first premolar on the left). The reason of the extraction is that I don't have enough space in my mouth for my teeth to move (I got braces yesterday too). So, the tooth was ok, my doctor just extracted it because of the space. I've already had 3 extractions before this one, and they all went well and this have never happened. It's been more than 24 hours since the extraction and I still have a lot of pain, it's in my gum, in the exact "spot" where the tooth was, but it also irradiates. When I touch it, it hurts even more and it seems like the pain irradiates really "down", almost to my jaw. Another weird thing is that sometimes when I talk it hurts even more, a sharp pain that goes on for a few seconds appear.... I haven't even brushed my teeth because I'm afraid of doing something wrong, I don't smoke, I didn't rise or anything. I've also been taking pain killers and eating soft food, mostly ice cream. I'm having a lot of pain, I can't even sleep because the pain keeps waking me up... I really don't know if my gums look normal, but I can notice, for sure, that there's a red spot near my canine that maybe isn't "normal" to be there, I don't know...and that area hurts too. I'm going to show you some pictures. http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/2878/img0919ue.jpg http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/5923/img0918ao.jpg What do you think of all this? Do my gums look normal? Is that "brownish" thing on top of them "normal"? Hope someone can help me, since I'm really worried... Thanks everybody! PS: The doctor didn't put anything in the "hole", nothing...

• Answer:

  I would say your tooth just put up a fight during the extraction and now you have quite a bit of bruising, if the root was deeply embedded then your dentist would really have needed to exert force to get it out and chances are he bruised the nerve which is now kicking back into gear and going "hang on a minute what what -that-!?" the redness looks normal to me and clotting is a positive sign, it certainly looks like you've got the clot forming properly so I wouldn't worry about dry socket. The pain should start to ease after 72 hours and slowly dissipate over the next 14 days. In the mean time keep taking painkillers, don't wait for the pain to set it, just take them regularly for the first few days and hopefully it will keep it down to a slightly more bearable level. Ibuprofen, Tramadol and Co-Codamol are about the strongest pain killers you can get OTC (ask your chemist/pharmacist) Or you could ask your Dentist if it is really unbearable and they will usually give you something stronger. Clove oil is one of those Grandma's homeopathic remedies and you apply it carefully onto the gum around the area to help with the soreness and any infection. Make sure you are rinsing your mouth with an antibacterial wash each night, just let the liquid sit on the area, don't swill it around as you may dislodge the clot. If you've been told not to use an alcoholic mouthwash then make up a mild saline rinse (it will sting but it will kill any infection)