I had my wisdom teeth surgically removed about 10 days ago; last
night I discovered that one of the healing places now has a small hole in it that is too
deep to see the bottom of. I can shine a flashlight into my mouth and see in the mirror
that it is definately a hole and not some sort of food particle or anything. The stitches
in that place are already dissolved. It isn't causing any pain and I can eat and drink
without pain. But there's a hole there. Is this a dry socket? Is it something that I
should notify my oral surgeon about?
Dry socket, otherwise known as 'Acute Alveolar Osteitis', is an inflammatory process which
causes loss of the blood clot in the extraction site and pain from exposed nerve endings.
Since you are not experiencing discomfort, you may have simply disrupted the blood clot or
one may never have formed. This being the case, your extraction site is still likely to
heal normally. If, in the future, you develop discomfort, swelling, or other signs of
infection, I urge you to contact your surgeon.
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