I Thought Sockets Had to Do With Electricity

Yeeee ouch!!!!

I could tell Dr. T didn't want to do it and he could tell I didn't either. It was just a plain old fact staring us both straight in the eye - I had a bad tooth and I had no money to fix it. It was nothing but fillings anyway - I reasoned, and I do have others around it. I know that when a tooth is gone the bone shrinks somewhat - I know it's best to save it if you can. But none of that logic was going to work for me so I had that tooth extracted.

I'd never had a dry socket before - I'd heard of them but that was it. I guess it was time for me to experience one first hand.

I guess my first hint should have been when Dr. T's assistant remarked on the lack of blood as the dentist lay his pliers and my tooth on the dental tray. she gave me instructions about when to change the gauze she gave me and the importance of leaving the hole alone for at least a day to let the blood clot form. I was to eat soft foods only and on the other side of my mouth only. No drinking through a straw.

No problem. I went home and relaxed. I knew it'd hurt some so I was prepared with Tylenol Extra Strength and Extra Strength Advil.

Thursday came and went, I took my painkillers and was careful when I ate.

Friday came and went the same way - except I sneezed twice before bed. I don't know if that's all it took or not to remove that clot - hindsight is real good for looking back on things, I guess. Anyway, all I know is I was in pretty good pain around 6AM the next morning.

I took painkillers that day and looked online for some answers. Everybody was talking about Clove Oil so I got hold of my daughter, Trish, who was in the city to see if she could get me some on her way home. I told her I'd settle for cloves and I'd figure out how to make a poultice with them. Sometime during the night she dropped them off - I found the cold bottle of whole cloves between the doors in the morning.

I kept taking painkillers through the night and on Sunday afternoon I broke one of my cardinal rules and I called Dr. T at his home. He ordered me some antibiotics and a different painkiller and Bernard drove to the Three Hills Hospital to get them for me. Dr. T instructed me to give his office a call in the morning. If the pain was gone - good, if not, he'd have to 'pack' it. Either way I was to call so he could give me a regular prescription as what he could get me from the hospital wouldn't last very long.

Monday morning found me in the dentist chair, mouth wide open and Dr. T staring in. He said the hole was completely dry and asked his assistant to prepare something that smelled strongly of cloves. Dr T put some of this 'packing' in and looked surprised while he commented on how he'd need more as that first one just 'disappeared!'

I left his office a few minutes later with instructions to keep the gauze in place for at least 1/2 hour and to try to keep the 'packing' in for a couple of days. If I needed it 'repacked', I just needed to call and they'd get me in. I asked him how I'd know if I needed to come in again and he grinned wryly, cocked his head to one side and said something about pain and that I'd know.

Well, here we are on Wednesday night - I can still taste the cloves so I guess there's still some in there. I am starting to get an ache but it's been on and off through this whole thing anyway.


I thanked Trish for the cloves {$8.00 for that tiny bottle - you can believe that?!} and gave them back so she could get her money back and I had my husband pick up some clove oil at the health food store when he was in the city...just in case...

The 40 day Love Dare

I just found out about this yesterday and it just dawned on me today to share it. Both Bernard and I are doing it. I invite you to do it, too. Even if you aren't married you can use these challenges in any relationship.


Hop onto this website and get started today - www.klove.com/blog