What should I do to avoid infection after having had my molar tooth extracted?
553785
If the Dental provider didn't prescribe you any antibiotics, I would make sure and keep the area clear of debris with a spray bottle of water and just rinse it out (the empty space) with tepid salt water after each meal (but try and eat on the other side if possible) and before bed. Be careful, do it lightly, as you don't want the blood clot to come out, that is when you will wake up out of a dead sleep and WANT an injection from the dentist!! Keep on carefully brushing and flossing the rest of your teeth, and rinse well afterwards, mouthwash wouldn't hurt, but not necessary in my opinion. Keep it clean and don't eat anything at a restaurant, just soft food, slowly, and carefully rinse out anything that may try to get in the space. Some people put gauze in there, but that could prevent the clot from forming and if there are bacteria in there, it may allow it to grow underneath it. I'd just try and keep it clean. Water pik on very low if you have one.
949106
I had mine removed and it was a piece of cake. They knock you out so you don't feel a thing.  If you aren't having any problems then I wouldn't worry about them.  If your dentist recommends getting them out, then I would inquire more at that time.  No need to worry now.
279827
who ever said of course it will hurt needs to find a new dentist!! It will NOT hurt. But it will feel really weird because you will have a lot of pressure in your mouth. If the dentist gives you plenty of anesthetic and you are completely numb it will not hurt at all, but it will be a little annoying, yes. You can also call your dentist and tell them you are scared and they can call in a prescription for you to take one hour prior to your appointment to relax you like valuum. Also you may want to use nitrox oxide ( laughing gas) to also help relax you. It wont get you numb like some people think...but it does help take your mind off of it! Also bring a book or music so you will not hear noises because they will be working next to your ear so it can be noisy but this is also normal.Also aftercare...don't smoke or suck through a straw, this can cause dry socket and they will explain this to you as well. But most important make sure to take something for pain while your still numb that way it kicks in by the time your un numb, they may prescribe you something so fill it right away, just dont take on an empty stomach cause you will not want to puke after having an extraction done.....not to worry i have been doing this for a long time and have had my teeth pulled and most people tell me that it wasn so bad. Most of the people listing advice just had a bad experience or bad dentist.
491848
ooh god .. he shoudl have covered them with temporary crowns .. . you have to ask him for that .. or at least to keep your lower teeth away from air, cold or hot things .. use salt warm water ... to clean .. use pain killers .. and don;t worry .. It will be Ok no inflamation there .. this happens only coz of the near nerve pulp .. from the surface ..
354015
take your dental floss and push under the kernal if that dosen't work brush over your gum and use mouthwash. if it's really lodged in there good and deep you might want to ask a pharamicst because it would be ridiculous to go to the dentist and pay for that unless there is no other way!
814605
there is nothing worse than a toothache. but you should be ok now. the antibiotics will help with the pain too. keep the percocet to help you sleep. you can take advil or motrin every 4 to 6 hours, this will help with the inflammation. some people may experience discomfort up to 2-3 weeks after a root canal. some people longer depending on how inflamed it was. it does sound like you had an infection because its hard to get a patient numb with an infection present. that could be the reason why you felt it. it does sound like your on the road to recovery though. just try to be patient with it and hang in there. good luck
124611
You can rub a little bit of whiskey on it ... or ambesol.  Check with a dentist .... may be time for them to come out.
96739
seek professional advice IMMEDIATELY... this can be very serious... til you can get to the dentist/doctor try melaleuca oil... or some sort of other disinfectant/anti-bacterial treatment.\n\nYour dentist/doctor will probably put you on anti-biotics
1018070
You will be fine.  The worst part is holding your mouth open!\nYou will have a topical anesthetic placed on the gums to numb up the tissue so you wont feel the actual injection as much.  You may feel a pinch, but breathe deeply and focus on that not the injection.  After about 5 minutes you will be pretty numb.  The dentist will then take a handpiece with a bur and remove the decayed portion of the teeth.  Since you will have amalgam, or metal, fillings placed the technique is a bit different than the white fillings.  The dentist, or if legal in your state a dental assistant, will fill the hole where the cavity was with the material and carve the anatomy in the softened metal.  With silver fillings you shouldnt eat for a few hours to allow the metal to completley harden.  It is completly set after 24 hours.  The advantage of the metal is that in that time you are biting and your filling actually comforms to the bite better than the white fillings that are light cured and are set at the appointment.  Some times you have to go back for a bite adjustment with the white fillings because your bite isnt right and you can have soreness in the area.  The silver fillings dont usually have this problem.\nBad thing about the silver fillings is that they are not tooth colored and they are not bonded to the tooth, so over time the margin where the tooth meet the filling will break down and bacteria can leak into the area and cause a recurrent cavity.  In any case fillings arent meant to last forever and they will need to be replaced anyways.  By that time you can have a white filling placed if you want.\nOh and they dont taste like metal but if you bite onto metal like foil or even a fork, sometimes you will get a bit of a wierd sensation.  And dont worry about the mercury in the filling either, there are a lot of people out there that think it will cause all kinds of problems, it is safe.\nGood Luck, you will be fine!
548194
Fairly remote. If you can remove the toothpick, you'll have a small puncture wound, which may or may not become infected. If it becomes infected, it may heal by itself. If it doesn't, and the pain is fairly bad, go to an M.D. for antibiotics. Other than that, you can forget about gangrene, unless you're a diabetic.
300762
Don't put Neosporin in your mouth, it could be toxic to the stomach. If not could make you real ill. If you do happen to attempt this stunt and anything happens please call the poison control center. My advice would be this:\n\nTry sea salt soaks, and peroxide. I would hold off on Listerine because it has alcohol in it and might irritate it further. Salt should help bring the abscess out and take alot of the soreness away. The IB profin should keep it from getting really inflamed. Also if you can bear it, take a handful or a nice big pinch of salt, and put it directly on the sore! Leave it there for as long as you can stand it, then rinse with salt water or peroxide. (just careful not to swallow) It will most deff. bring the abscess in your mouth out quicker than if you just let it heal, it will probably take about a week or two to heal fully. If the abscess breaks be careful not to swallow any of the infection because it will make you sick and dizzy. Rinse well and maybe place a cotton swab over it (Depending on how bad it is) to keep the infection from running down your throat and you digesting some. GL with this, I've had abscessed teeth before, and it's no fun. You really need to see a Dentist if possible, but if this is out of the question...try the soaks and stuff and continue with the antibiotics and IB profin for pain. You'll get better soon, and if not seek medical attention ASAP! Best wishes
1084843
That's too many. You have dry socket. did you smoke afther the extraction. Call your dentist and ask to be seen.\n\nDry socket involves pain lasting several days after the extraction. It's caused by something dislodging the clot from the extraction. The bone that is exposed begins to die and hurts like crazy. Other than the pain, there's not really any other symptoms. If it's associated with swelling, then there is an infection, not dry socket. \n\nThinks like spitting hard or sucking through a straw or SMOKING can cause the clot to dislodge. To fix it they pack some medicing in the socket and the pain is almost instantly relieved. Call him before they close today.
789455
Sleep on an extra pillow to elevate your head.  Sleep on the side that does NOT have a toothache.  If that doesn't work, you can move to a recliner or the sofa so you can keep your head really elevated.  This will minimize the blood flow to the area and therefore minimize the throbbing and pain.  This might help you make it through the night until you can see a dentist.\n\nTry an ice pack, also.  If that hurts, switch to heat.  Sorry for the guess, but I'd start with ice, which would calm an abscess.  You can even rinse with ice water.  Have some warm water standing by the first time you try it, though!
507794
This is normal. Having teeth removed, especially if there is a cyst involved. is considered surgery. Depending on the level of complication, it could even be considered major surgery. Swelling is ALWAYS worse 1 - 2 days after the procedure is done. Just refrain from smoking, drinking out of a straw, or anything else that requires a sucking action. Also... if you are rinsing with a slat wter solution, make sure it is ONLY 1tsp per full glass of water. Anything more will hamper with the healing process. The things to watch for are... severe pain (ie 8 - 10 on a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the worst), a red line going from the area of the extraction down your neck (it would look like someone took a red marker and drew on your skin), or a really bad taste (not like the tase of blood that I'm sure you are experiencing now, but more of a rotting taste) and severe oozing (not like the little bit I'm sure you are seeing now, but enough that you feel like you are swallowing all the time). If ANY of these things happen, call your dentist IMMEDIATELY. Everyone tolerates pain and surgery differently, but these three things are the standard "something is really wrong" markers.
906500
It depends on how big of a mess you make of the 'surgical site'...and congrats on having the temerity to pull that sucker out yourself! \nSterilize the tweezers (use rubbing alcohol), sterilize the area (rubbing alcohol) and sometimes it helps to numb it first with an ice cube (then clean the area). After you've pulled that bad boy out, dab it with hydrogen peroxide, then put some neosporin on it and a small bandage for a day. \nYou should be OK in a few days.
323626
Good news no cavities.  The next step is to get those gums in shape.  Deep cleaning is called scaling and root planing.  I do at least three of these types of procedures a day.  When you come in for your appointment the first thing your doc or hyg. will do is go over medical history to make sure nothing has changed if all is well then you are good to go.  1. first they will place a topical gel to get your gums a little numb. 2. then they will give you several injections based on the area that they are cleaning that day. 3.once you are good and numb they will start the cleaning, above and below the gum line to remove the tarter that you have built up.  Many times they will use an ultra-sonic scaler called a cavitron, or piezo, this is an instrument that uses vibrations to remove the build-up, it also has a water lavage to keep the tip cool while they are cleaning you.  4. after the major cleaning, then they will go back with hand instruments to smooth the root surface and to make sure that all of the deposits are gone, as well as any bacteria.  5. They will then irrigate the area with an antibacterial rinse to flush out any remaining bacteria.  6. Last they will take measurements of your gums called periodontal probing to see exactly how deep your gum pockets are.  This procedure can be done by quadrants (up right, up left, low. right, low left) or the whole mouth it depends on your practitioner.  It is really not as bad as it sounds, the worse part that my patients say is the initial injections to get numb.  Once you are numb you will be fine. You may feel some slight vibrations on the teeth, but that is usually the extent.  Make sure you do your home care instructions every day as to not go through this again.
318815
I am a dental assistant.  If you are having a toothache, take some Advil until you can get into the dentist.  If you need to ice it that is OK, but do not put heat on it.  If you have an infection the bacteria will just grow.  But do try to get into the dentist ASAP so you don't end up losing the tooth.