How to Avoid Dry Sockets After Oral Surgery

Pain associated with oral surgery is not always limited to swelling and minor bleeding. If you notice excessive amounts of bleeding and throbbing pain near your jawline more than 48 hours after your oral surgery, you may be experiencing a condition known as dry sockets.

What are dry sockets?
After oral surgery, while your surgery site is healing, a blood clot forms to protect the wound. If this blood clot becomes dislodged or falls out, your surgery site will be left exposed. This loss of blood clot is known as a "dry socket".

How can I avoid dry sockets?
By taking proper care of your mouth after oral surgery, you can help avoid dry sockets. You first day after oral surgery should be limited to liquids and pureed smooth foods. Appropriate foods for your first day after surgery should include water, vitamin enhanced shakes (like Ensure, Boost or Slim Fast), cream or broth based soups or soft canned vegetables pureed in a blender with milk to make them very thin, pudding or ice cream pureed in a blender with milk or plain yogurt and milk pureed in the blender. By keeping you mouth on a soft diet the first day after oral surgery, you will create an ideal environment for the blood clot to form.

On the second day of oral surgery recovery, you will notice a vast improvement in swelling and pain, but don't let this confidence fool you. Be sure to still rely on soft foods that do not require chewing before swallowing. On day two, you can most likely move to small pieces of gelatin that can slide down your throat, small bites of scrambled eggs or small bites of very soft canned fruits such as pears or peaches.

You are most likely to experience dry sockets on days three through five. Your blood clot over the surgery site is well formed now, and with the increase of a substantial diet, may become dislodged if healing time is not allowed. Be sure not to touch the surgical site with your tongue or finger.