Post extraction questions - Dental Health Message Board

Libbyanne · 09-02-2004, 09:21 PM

I just had my 9 remaining teeth on top extracted. Because of the bleeding I had to take the immediate denture out so I could stop the bleeding. That took about 6 hours and because of having to bite down on the gauze, my gums swelled much more than usual and of cousre I cannot wear the denture.
Today I awoke to find my cheek on one side swollen to the point of my sinus being blocked. The swelling is above the eye tooth site and next to my nose. Is this normal?

Also I have a gnawing kind of pain (almost like a painful itch) where my eye tooth would have been. It's not bad enough that I have to take something but it's annoying. I'm not sure if it's because of the swelling and maybe pressing on a nerve.

Hopefully the swelling will go down in the next few days because I am supposed to go back to work on Tuesday and I have to have my teeth!

Any help is much appreciated!

Sandybeech · 09-03-2004, 03:32 PM

Some of what you are feeling is normal, the bleeding is usually controlled by the denture being in place to act as a pressure bandage. The swelling also sounds normal- again, if the denture was in, you would not have as much swelling. The thing with the sinus sounds a little weird, keep in mind that the eye teeth are called eye teeth for a reason, they have long roots that go way up in the jaw and I have read where sometimes when they are extracted they can open things up to the sinuses. I would call the dentist and have this checked out.

Try using warm salt water rinses and bags of frozen peas to help keep the swelling down.

Libbyanne · 09-03-2004, 03:45 PM

Thanks for your reply Sandy. Today I feel a bit better. The reason I couldn't keep the denture in is because the bleeding was so heavy that the denture was basically floating and I was unable to keep pressure on all extraction sites. The gum swelling is not as bad as my face and cheek swelling which is what really concerned me. I did talk to the dentist today and he said to put warm compresses on the swelled areas since it has been over 24 hours since the extraction. So far the swelling has decreased a bit which is good. The gums still have that painful itchy feeling but I don't feel I need to take anything more than maybe a Tylenol for the pain. Interestingly the site that bothers me the most was where I had a tooth extracted a year ago and there was nothing more than just a metal post. I plan on seeing the dentist on Tuesday regardless and hopefully I will be able to get the denture in by then.

Thanks again!

Libbyanne · 09-12-2004, 01:44 PM

A week after my extractions, the swelling went down and I attempted to put in my denture. Everything fit except for the left side in the back. I tried to force it on but stopped after it started bleeding. I went in to see the dentist and he said that there were a couple of pieces of bone that were sticking out and the bone was exposed and that they would have to be ground off and that the gum was not healing. So now I have to go to an oral surgeon and hopefully they will be able to put the denture in after taking out the bone. This is miserable. That was last Thursday and my gums are still swollen. I have tried cold, heat and salt water but nothing seems to be helping. The sinus area is also swollen but that is probably due to my gums swelling and pressing on the sinus.

How can I get the swelling down? I am afraid if I can't get the swelling down, that the OS will be unable to put the denture on. I can't afford to miss any more work.