Mouth Update
Because the dentist who did my extraction gave me his contact info at the clinic, I was able to see him again yesterday. I explained that I'd avoided trying to follow up with him because I feel like I'm taking advantage of him when the original care was already free. He said was was really glad I'd followed up and that he'd been wondering if I was doing ok. I thanked him profusely for his care and concern several times, and he expressed that he really enjoys doing the work he does, that it's responsible for all of the good things he has in life like his wife and house, and he feels good about being able to give back in various ways. He asked me to call on Monday to let him know how things are going. From all I can see, he's a genuinely good, caring person and it makes me feel better about the world to interact with people like him.
I don't have a dry socket, and the area seems to be healing as well as can be expected. Because he needed to remove some bone for the extraction, he had to get gum tissue out of the way. The pain is mostly coming from a deep cut down into my gums, combined with the gums trying to grow back around some rough exposed bone.
He removed the couple of stitches in the area and cleaned it up. To my relief, the colors that were alarming me when I looked with my light and mirror were food debris rather than discolored tissue. He gave me some prescription liquid oral antibiotic to use a couple times a day, and some OTC pain meds. Tylenol and Ibuprofen together, he explained, can be more effective than some opioids in some situations because each one effects a different part of the nervous system. I've been taking them and they do help a lot. Usually I manage pain fairly well. I avoided taking the Vicodin I had for my wrist surgery after the first day because I don't like the feeling of not being in control of my brain. But this jaw pain has been worse than that sometimes.
So it seems like it will be ok. I'm at work for the day with pain meds to take and feeling acceptably functional. I even biked this morning and am thinking about a slower ride along the lake on the way home to enjoy the weather.
I don't have a dry socket, and the area seems to be healing as well as can be expected. Because he needed to remove some bone for the extraction, he had to get gum tissue out of the way. The pain is mostly coming from a deep cut down into my gums, combined with the gums trying to grow back around some rough exposed bone.
He removed the couple of stitches in the area and cleaned it up. To my relief, the colors that were alarming me when I looked with my light and mirror were food debris rather than discolored tissue. He gave me some prescription liquid oral antibiotic to use a couple times a day, and some OTC pain meds. Tylenol and Ibuprofen together, he explained, can be more effective than some opioids in some situations because each one effects a different part of the nervous system. I've been taking them and they do help a lot. Usually I manage pain fairly well. I avoided taking the Vicodin I had for my wrist surgery after the first day because I don't like the feeling of not being in control of my brain. But this jaw pain has been worse than that sometimes.
So it seems like it will be ok. I'm at work for the day with pain meds to take and feeling acceptably functional. I even biked this morning and am thinking about a slower ride along the lake on the way home to enjoy the weather.