How To Avoid Getting Dry Socket

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Dry socket is one of the most painful dental problems during adulthood. In this article, Authority Remedies will present to you top 26 natural home remedies for dry socket.

Overview

You might think that getting a tooth pulled is not an enjoyable experience and you hope not to suffer from some discomfort afterward. However, when the pain gets intense and enables not to go away after several days, it might be indicative of a symptom of a condition known as alveolar osteitis or dry socket. When dry socket takes place, it's often accompanied by the bad breath and a disgusting taste in your mouth.

Dry socket, also called alveolar osteitis, refers to the pain you might suffer from after having a tooth pulled out when you are mature. And this problem is more likely to happen when your wisdom teeth are removed. Normally, the pain caused by dry socket can appear about four days after the extraction of the teeth^[1].

According to recent research, there is only a small percentage of people (from 2% to about 5%) having dry socket after a tooth extraction.

Typically, the blood clot will be created in the area of your tooth extraction, and it normally serves as a defensive covering over the bone and other nerve endings in the bare tooth socket. Speaking of the clot, it can give a solid base for the development of your new bone and soft tissues. When your underlying nerves and bone expose like that, the condition will result in the pain spreading across those nerves and then to the side of the face.

For most people, dry socket is extremely uncomfortable since it normally causes the inflammation to their jawbones. The socket might contain food debris, saliva, and other bacteria which are lodged in the clots so that it easily add to the pain. In short, dry socket is one of the most common complications that occur after the tooth extractions, especially following the wisdom teeth removal. If so, then who are the most affected by dry socket?

Who Is More Prone to Dry Socket?

People are likely to develop dry socket after having a tooth pulled. That consists of those who:

have poor oral hygiene
smoke
have wisdom teeth pulled
used to get dry socket after getting teeth pulled
use birth control pills

Aside from this, according to the Honor Society of Nursing (STTI), those who are most affected by dry socket are the ones who suffer diabetes and have the habits of smoking. Take note that spitting and rinsing a lot or drinking with a straw after tooth extraction can increase your higher risk of experiencing dry socket.

Read also: How to Get Stronger Teeth and Gums

What are the causes of Dry Socket?

The main cause of the dry socket growth is the food debris, saliva, and other germs accumulation in the area of your blood clot. Food is quite difficult to get rid of from a wide open socket if you don't use the proper tools. As often, most surgeons would like to send their patients back home with a syringe that is filled with water to clean that area where their teeth were pulled.

Besides, the possibility of suffering from the dry socket is higher if you are used to smoking and have poor dental hygiene. Even coughing, spitting, or sneezing is likely to move all the debris to the open socket, increasing the risk of having dry socket.

What are the Symptoms of Dry Socket?

Symptoms of dry socket - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Symptoms of dry socket*

Painful feeling is definitely one of the very first and most annoying symptoms of dry socket. On the other hand, you might have bad breath and uncomfortable taste in the mouth. In some severe cases, the pain may spread to the ears, eyes and necks as a result of the connection among these parts of the body. Fever is commonly seen as well ^[2][3].

Some other symptoms can include:

Total or partial loss of the blood clot at the right position of the tooth extraction
Visible bone occurring the socket
Pain that is from the socket to the eye, ears, neck or temple on the same side of the face which has the extraction
Swollen lymph nodes around the neck or jaw

So you decided to see the dentist after having already in pain since that tooth was overdue needing a removal. Is your dry socket slow to heal? Here's how long it might last:

How long does a dry socket last?

Healing time frame of a dry socket

After the dry socket symptoms set in, it normally takes from seven to ten days to be fully recovered. During this time, your granulation tissue will be formed, and then begin to cover and defend the socket's open bone.

How long does the pain last?

Such a discomfort from suffering a dry socket tends to last for four or eight days in total. This also means that you're recommended to need the dental attention soon to become more comfortable. This irritated pain could turn to be quite serious from time to time. And nearly coming to an end, it may get smaller and weaker gradually before going away.

How often does dry socket occur?

For an average tooth extraction routine, the chances of having a dry socket are near a particular amount of 1 – 4%.
Most of them are the most likely to take place when your lower teeth are extracted instead of the upper ones.
In short, all of the surgical extractions tend to own a tenfold higher rate.
Every dry socket possibly occurs in as many as 45% of all cases that involve the extractions of your lower wisdom teeth.
For most extractions, having a dry socket is supposed to be the most common complication after the surgery.

How long is your healing process postponed?

Overall, we can expect that the entire healing time frame of the tooth extraction area can be postponed within a week, or even longer than that. There's no need to suffer that all alone! Let's put together some effective home remedies for dry socket for a quick relief now:

26 Home Remedies for Dry Socket

After looking at the dry socket symptoms, it is clear that dry socket should be treated as soon as possible. While arranging treatment with a dentist can be time-consuming and expensive, you should know that there are some natural ingredients having positive impacts on the dry socket treatment. They are easy to find and effective to help you get rid of dry socket within a short period of time.

Here are top 25 natural home remedies for dry socket that you should take consideration to prepare yourself when dealing with this dental problem.

1. Ice

One of the simplest, but most effective natural home remedies for dry socket is cold compress, which refers to the use of ice cubes or cold water. The coldness from ice can affect the nerves and help you escape from the severe pain immediately ^[4][5].

Ice - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *ice*

If you use ice cubes, keep some of them in a cloth and apply the cloth over the areas affected by dry socket for several minutes.

Another simple way to get rid of dry socket is to use cold water.

A thin and soft towel should be soaked in cold water and squeezed.
It should be kept over the painful areas in about 15 minutes.
You can apply this method 3-4 times on a daily basis.

2. Clove

With anesthetic and analgesic qualities that help ease the pain effectively, clove is one of the best natural home remedies for dry socket. You should use this remedy before the pain spreads to the head and causes a lot of discomforts. To quicken the treatment, you should get the clove oil ^[6].

Cloves - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Cloves*

A cotton swab should be soaked in clove oil and then, put over the areas in your mouth affected by dry socket in about one minute.
Then, use warm water to wash the mouth.

This method should be followed several times per day to get the best results.

You might want to know how clove can cure plaque.

3. Tea Bag

While applying ice cubes or cold water directly on the dry socket might even worsen the situation, the opposite is true of tea bags. They can be placed immediately on the areas affected by dry socket without the help of cloth or cotton ball. The presence of tannic acid which is effective for reducing pain makes it perfect to become one of the most powerful natural home remedies for dry socket ^[7].

Tea Bag - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Tea Bag*

Get a tea bag into hot water.
5 minutes later, take the tea bag out and keep it in the fridge in about 15 minutes.
The cold tea bag should be placed over the areas affected by dry socket. You can bite it to get more nutrients.
The tea water should be used to wash the mouth after that.

4. Water

Water - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Water*

Water supplement is another money saving way on how to get rid of dry socket .A sufficient intake of water on a daily basis is fundamental in the dry socket treatment because it can help relieve the pain and prevent swelling in your mouth effectively. You are recommended to drink at least 2 liters of water every day and it should be divided into 5-6 times.

Besides water, you can find more about Home Remedies for Dehydration to avoid the worst scenario.

5. Turmeric

Being antiseptic, turmeric is one of the most supportive natural home remedies for dry socket. It can stop the accumulation of bacteria in the mouth, which is responsible for many dental problems ^[8].

It is this quality that makes turmeric appear in many oral treatments, for example, Home Remedies for Cavities.

Turmeric - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Turmeric*

Get the powdered turmeric to pour into a cup of warm water.
Stir them properly and use the mixture to rinse your mouth several times on a daily basis to get rid of dry socket as soon as possible.

6. Tea Tree Oil

Known as a popular natural antiseptic, tea tree oil can definitely appear in the list of natural home remedies for dry socket. This oil is commonly used in the efforts to fight against the bacterial infection in the teeth and gums. The efficiency of tea tree oil in the dry socket treatment was proved by the Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy in 2007 ^[9][10].

A cotton swab ought to be soaked in water first.
Then, some drops of oil is put in the cotton swab which should be pressed over the painful areas.
5 minutes later, use warm water to wash these areas.

7. Yogurt

Yogurt - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Yogurt*

As a result of the fermentation process, yogurt can provide a number of good bacteria to help restore the balance in your mouth. These good bacteria are good enough to eradicate the harmful bacteria causing dry socket and other gum problems. Undoubtedly, yogurt is one of the most effective natural home remedies for dry socket. You ought to have yogurt several times per day.

8. Lemon

Being strongly acidic, lemon is very powerful to kill the bacteria and therefore, super supportive for the dry socket treatment. When combined with salt, lemon even becomes a better natural home remedy for dry socket.

A lemon should be squeezed to get the fresh juice.
Mix some salt into the juice.
With the help of a cotton swab, you apply the mixture over the areas.

You will be surprised at Top Natural Health Benefits of Lemon

9. Chamomile

Chamomile is a common herb that is packed with a great number of soothing ingredients. It helps fight with inflammation of the gums, relieve swelling and pain, accompanied with bad breath. Chamomile can serve as a sedative tranquilizing the pain of throbbing. Due to the above reasons, chamomile is one of the successful dry socket home remedies.

Mix a tablespoon of chamomile leaves with a glass of boiling water
Remember to wrap the solution and allow the leaves to steep for about 10 minutes.
After straining the tea, consume it twice per day for several days

See how chamomile can work wonder to your health

10. Valerian

Valerian - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Valerian*

You might notice the appearance of valerian in Home Remedies for Anxiety that is also one of many consequences of dry socket. So, why don't you use valerian earlier to get rid of dry socket and prevent severe pain in advance?

Its root aids in relaxing the tissues and nerves of the gums, along with reducing swelling as well as pain. Valerian root proves its effectiveness in inducing restful sleep which enables to accelerate the healing process. Besides, it can be used to make it much easier for you to go to good sleep. Get the mixture to apply over the painful areas by mixing valerian roots with hot water.

Add some dried valerian root to a glass of boiling water
Allow it to steep for about 10 minutes.
Ret rid of the roots and consume the valerian tea twice a day in several days post teeth extraction.

11. Garlic

With anti-inflammatory and antibiotic qualities, garlic is another great natural home remedy for dry socket that should be shining. In addition to helping you stay away from pain and swelling, garlic is super effective in the prevention of bacterial infection.

You can take some fresh garlic cloves and chew them raw so that the juice can be everywhere in your mouth. About 5 minutes later, you can spit it out and gargle with water to get rid of the bad breath.

12. Apple Cider Vinegar

If you want to find out what to do for dry socket, then apple cider vinegar can bring about a quick recovery.Some powerful substances in apple cider vinegar can wipe out the bacteria in your mouth and keep everything under control. It is one of the best natural home remedies for dry socket and it does not take much time to make it.

Get equals amounts of the vinegar and water to combine together.
Rinse the mouth with this mixture several times per day.

See how ACV benefits your health

13. Boiled Potatoes

The best natural home remedies for dry socket are soft foods. And boiled potato is a great choice. It is easy to be chewed and digested. Potato also contains many vitamins and nutrients that are beneficial for your health.

Furthermore, you can choose a variety of other soft foods, such as soup or smoothies while applying other natural home remedies to get rid of dry socket.

Read also: Top 10 Health Benefits of Potatoes

14. Ice Cream

Ice cream - Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Ice cream*

Ice cream is a good dry socket treatment .Some people may be doubtful about this home remedy and nobody can tell exactly whether it is effective or not. However, at least you can try. Like cold water, the coldness of ice cream can immediately help you get out of the painful feeling in the mouth.

15. Saline Water Rinse

Saline water rinse serves well as a preventive method to combat with dry socket caused by tooth extraction. Thanks to warm water, it can help reduce pain and thereby reliving swelling. The salt is powerful for killing bacteria triggering infection. Remember to begin washing the mouth with warm saline water within 24 hours when you have a tooth extracted.

Mix some salt with a cup of lukewarm water
Stir the mixture with a spoon to get salt dissolved in the water.
Wash your mouth with this saline water twice per day

16. Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is among top home remedies for dry socket since the treatment is believed to disinfect the site of the dry socket; hence, preventing against any further growth of bacterial infection and relieve the symptoms of dry socket, including bad breath, foul taste or throbbing pain inside the mouth.

Add a cup of hydrogen peroxide to four glasses of water.
Rinse off your mouth with this solution for up to 4 times a day in a few days.

17. Gauze

Similar to our simple home remedies for dry socket, gauze is a satisfactory answer on how to prevent dry socket. This is because it is the most commonly-used way to help lower the pain and swelling at the same time. It also prevents any entry of the external particles, so feel free to use it by putting it in your dry socket and then bite down to keep the gauze in place.

18. Peppermint

Peppermint Oil - 20 Impressive Home Remedies for Dry Socket — *Peppermint Oil*

Another handy tip on how to treat dry socket is peppermint. Menthol in peppermint contains mild anesthetic effects which can reduce the pain sensation. Also, it has refreshing aroma that aids in treating the bad breath; hence, making the breath more fragrant. Undoubtedly, peppermint extract is used in different types of some oral care products like mouthwash or tooth pastes, etc.

Soak a cotton swab into the water
Dip it in peppermint oil
Rub the cotton swab against the site of dry socket
Leave it on for 10 minutes and wash your mouth with water
Perform the treatment twice on a daily basis up to 3 days

19. Neem

Neem provides you with a good dry socket relief. Also called Indian Lilac, neem is loaded with healing properties. Thanks to its antifungal and antibacterial qualities, it helps reduce the chance of bacterial infection triggered by food particles. Its anti-inflammatory agents can ease pain and reduce swelling.

Prepare some fresh neem leaves and have them washed with water.
Have the leaves crushed in a mortar to create a paste.
Rub the paste over the gum affected by the dry socket and wait for some hours.
Repeat the treatment twice per day in several days.

20. Avoid Hard Foods and Smoking

One of the most important things you need to bear in mind so that the situation does not get worse is to avoid hard foods during the dry socket treatment. If you consume foods that are too hard or spicy, it may even make the infection worse and as a consequence, the dry socket treatment becomes tricky.

21. Ginger

If you ask us which one works the best in the list of home remedies for dry socket, we would say that it's ginger. Ginger is not just an effective antibiotic but also anti-inflammatory pain relief. By having these noticeable properties, ginger is a reliable treatment for all dental issues in general. Use ginger to soothe your condition at home, or simply sip the ginger tea on a regular basis.

22. Honey

Known as a natural antibacterial ingredient like the rest of home remedies for dry socket, honey is believed to sterilize your sockets for three to six days. Let's make your honey dressing similarly that you used to make the clove oil dressing, just by dipping cotton or gauze into the honey paste with tweezers.

23. Black tea

Another idea antibiotic that can reduce the pain of your dry socket is black tea. Come to put one black tea bag in a cup of hot water if you want to make tea. Once it's brewed enough, let's get rid of the tea bag to leave it cool down. When it's cool already, then place that bag on your dry socket area. Hold it still for five or ten minutes. Next, you can use that tea you've made to rinse the mouth.

24. Aloe vera

When considering about home remedies for dry socket, there's one herb you can't miss here is aloe vera. This tropical herb is commonly known for its multiple medicinal uses and amazing antibacterial characteristics. It can remove germs and diminish any infection in your tooth extraction area quite well. As a natural antiseptic ingredient, aloe vera is claimed to improve the wound, and its anti-inflammatory features can help decrease the swelling in your affected site.

Slice an aloe vera leaf.
Get the gel with a small spoon,
Dip one gauze ball into that aloe vera gel.
Apply straight to your dry socket.
Repeat this routine many times a day for two and three days continuously until your infections move away.

25. Oregano oil

Using oregano oil is also a great idea thanks to its numerous antibacterial advantages despite the taste that seems a bit overpowering. They're the most effective remedy you can use to fight against other drug-resistant strains of germs. Apply the oil to any potential bacterial infection that could trigger or grow in your dry socket.

Apply the oregano oil straight to your area.
If not, place it on a sterile gauze ball and leave it over the socket many times a day.
Be careful! Never try to swallow the oil since it's a strong antibiotic that can kill any bacteria in your gut.
Aside from oregano oil, you can consider using grapeseed oil or the olive leaf extract.

26. Dry salt, mustard oil, and turmeric

Prepare yourself a mixture of the three most ideal ingredients: dry salt, mustard oil, and turmeric. It's proven to be one of the perfect home remedies for dry socket. But more importantly, this combination ensures to give you quick relief from the pain and improve your dental health.

Place the turmeric in an average container.
Later, add a bit dry salt to it.
Next, pour the mustard oil.
Later, mix all of them to make the paste.
Finally, apply the mixture straight to your affected area.

Additional Tips:

Here are some extra tips on how to avoid dry socket:

Avoid chewing tobacco or smoke at least 24 hours before and after the surgery since that tobacco can have your wound site contaminated.
Inform your dentist about any further medication you're going to take because some of them can interrupt the blood clotting.
Maintain the oral hygiene to get rid of the dental dry socket, but be more careful about brushing around that site.
Avoid touching the wound with other objects and fingers
Keep hydrated.
Take a good rest
After the surgery, refrain from any spitting and avoid straw when drinking any beverages as the suction action can dislodge your clot.
Consume some kinds of soft foods and limit yourself from eating the ones that can lodge in your wounds, such as popcorn, pasta, and peanuts.
Take the complete course of antibiotics regularly
Avail warm saltwater rinses to keep that site as clean as possible but never rinse the mouth too hard.
Sleep with the head elevated

It's also good to learn the best ways for rinsing. To prevent your blood clot from being damaged in the empty dry socket, it's highly recommended not to rinse the mouth within the first 24 hours after the extractions. Let's start your day after the surgery with a gentle cleanse with warm salty water many times a day. Doing so will keep the wound clean and reduce your inflammation.

For greater safety, right at the moment of your first oral consultation, where there are a lot of knowledgeable surgeons sit down with you, let's discuss more how to prevent dry socket in detail.

When should we see a doctor?

The best time to seek medical advice or see a doctor is when you detect the emergency warning signs of a dry socket. This is when you've got to deal with the pain and swelling after five days.

The pain will get worse after tooth extraction, so before it happens, let's contact your dentist or an oral surgeon instantly for the best evaluation and treatment. Also, you might remain some debris spotted in the site or another underlying condition you won't know. When you can't access to the doctor who is in charge of the surgery, don't postpone in asking for urgent help from your care facility or any emergency department in the local area.

Conclusion

Since dry socket is likely to lead to greater infection, so make sure to use one of our recommended home remedies for dry socket above to relieve the condition in time. Luckily, though the dry socket is painful, it can react to your treatment fast. The symptoms will start reducing soon after that and can go away after 3-4 days.

But we still recommend that as soon as you see the symptoms arising, let's start making a medical appointment. And before seeing your oral surgeon, it's fine to use those natural methods detailed in this article to manage your pain well.

*Disclaim: The effectiveness from applying these natural tips will be depended on the body condition of the applicant.

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