Post-Op Care: Some Natural Remedies for Dry Socket

Author: Dr. Vladimir Gashinsky, DDS, AIAOMT, CND, CNC

If you’ve ever had a tooth extracted, you might have looked over your post-op instructions and found some of them to be a little bit…well, weird. Don’t drink through a straw? What kind of advice is that? It’s advice to keep you from developing one of the most common complications after having a tooth extracted: dry socket.

Just What Is Dry Socket, Anyway?

After a dentist or oral surgeon removes a tooth, a blood clot normally forms in its socket. It’s an essential part of the healing process, protecting and nourishing the extraction site.

Clinically known as alveolar osteitis, dry socket is what happens if that clot fails to form or dissolves prematurely or gets dislodged, leaving the bone and nerve endings in the socket exposed. Exposed nerve endings mean intense pain when fluid, food, air, or anything else touches the area. Sometimes, this manifests as a severe, throbbing pain at the extraction site; other times, as a radiating pain that moves toward the ear, eye, temple, or neck on the same side of the face as the site.

You may experience a bad taste in your mouth, as well, or bad breath.

If dry socket develops, it’s usually one to three days after surgery and more likely if the extraction site is in the lower jaw or the back of the mouth, especially wisdom tooth sites. While the dry socket rate for routine extractions is fairly low, when it comes to lower molars, the rate may be as high as 30%.

Drinking through a straw shortly after surgery is one way to dislodge the clot. Other risk factors include smoking and tobacco use, excessive rinsing or spitting, and poor oral hygiene. Dry socket is also more likely if your body’s healing abilities are hampered by poor nutrition or immune function.

Lowering the Risk of Dry Socket

In any kind of surgery, we do all we can to prevent complications like dry socket, taking extra steps to support quick and uneventful healing. This includes using ozone to disinfect and stimulate the body’s healing mechanisms. It includes using platelet rich fibrin (PRF) to promote revascularization of the site, which improves the healing response

Research has consistently shown that dry socket happens less when PRF is used. As one recent review of the science put it,

The trials examined consistently show that PRF significantly lowers pain, speeds up wound healing, and may reduce the occurrence of DS [dry socket] healing (through its rich content of GF [growth factors] and cytokines), providing a considerable advantage over standard therapy. PRF′s effects are mostly due to its high concentration of GF which promote tissue regeneration, reduce inflammation, and speed up recovery. Furthermore, PRF′s biocompatibility and ease of preparation make it a cost-effective and patient-friendly alternative, potentially lowering the need for analgesics and antibiotics.

Even so, dry socket can still occur, particularly if the extraction was difficult or you have a history of the condition, or if you ignore your post-op instructions.

As much as you may want the comforting coolness of a milkshake or smoothie after oral surgery, drinking it through a straw is one of the worst things you can do. The suction causes a sudden change in air pressure in your mouth, like a mini vacuum. Bye-by, clot; hello, dry socket!

Home Remedies for Dry Socket

If you develop dry socket, the first thing to do is to follow up with the oral surgeon or dentist who did the extraction for treatment so your mouth can get back to healing properly. But between that call and your appointment time, there are a number of home remedies you can use to help ease the pain and discomfort.

Warm Salt Water Rinse: Gently swish warm salt water in your mouth for about 30 seconds, then spit it out. This helps clean the area and reduce pain.

Cold & Heat Therapy: Place a cold pack on your cheek for 20-minute periods to reduce swelling. You can alternate with warm compresses to ease pain.

Clove Oil: Apply a small amount of clove oil to clean gauze and place it on the affected area. Clove oil has natural pain-relieving properties.

Raw Honey: Put some raw honey on sterile gauze and place it directly on the dry socket. Change the gauze every few hours. Honey has antibacterial properties that can help healing.

Black Tea Bags: Steep a black tea bag in hot water, let it cool, then place it on the dry socket for about 15 minutes. The tannins in black tea can help reduce pain and swelling.

Tea Tree Oil: Mix a drop of tea tree oil with honey or black tea and apply it to the area using sterile gauze. Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties.

Oregano Oil: Apply a small amount of oregano oil directly to the dry socket or on sterile gauze. Oregano oil has antimicrobial properties that may help prevent infection.

Turmeric: Make a paste from turmeric powder and a little water, and apply it directly to the affected area. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties that may help reduce pain and swelling.

Aloe Vera: Apply a small amount of pure aloe vera gel to the dry socket to soothe pain and promote healing.

Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen can also be used to help manage pain, as well as CBD (topical or ingested).

One or more of these methods should help get you through until you’re able to get treatment – and get back to the business of healing and getting on with your life.