Wisdom tooth extraction and dry socket? What is the risk?

First you need to understand a little of what the term "dry socket" means. It's not referring to the hole left in your gums, which is what most folks think. Teeth are specialized extensions of the jawbone, and if you had a tooth in place long enough to develop roots, removing it left a big tooth size hole in the jawbone. That's the socket part they are refering to. When the tooth is removed and that socket hole is created, the bone reacts by forming a blood clot to seal it all off. That prevents the bone itself from losing fluid and dehydrating- the "dry" part of the equation. To get a dry socket, you'd have to first have a tooth rooted in the bone. From the sounds of it, you may not have done. Sutures are used when there is a lot of damage done to both gum and jawbone in the removal process, though some dentists use them fairly routinely to help prevent a dry socket developing. With a suture in place, your odds are nearly zero. However, since you had an abscess, sutures are not a great idea either- and may be why your dentist opted not to use one. Since I can't see the pre-op x-ray, and you don't likely know, it's hard to guess which is the reason. If you had the teeth for more than a few months though, you probably did have roots, and didn't get sutured because of the infection. A dry socket is the greatest risk to develop starting about your third day post removal. It will begin as a dull ache in the bone beneath where the tooth used to be, and progressively get worse. It will get to a point where Motrin just won't cut it. For temporary relief, make a hot cup of tea and save the bag. Dunk it until the actual "tea" liquid turns pretty much clear, and then put the warm teabag on the extraction site, and chomp down lightly. Get a swallow of the tea itself and pool that it the cheekpocket on the sore side as well. The tannic acid helps shrink things down and gives some relief. Then you need to see the dentist for the special packing material to solve the problem permanently. In most cases if you follow the aftercare instructions about smoking, and avoiding fizzy drinks, you don't have a problem. Be sure to keep up with the oral care though, using a toddler size toothbrush for the brushwork, which will let you avoid the tender site and still get the rest of the teeth clean. Also, when you do the rinse after eating, don't get too aggressive with the swish or spit part. Instead of doing a pucker type spit with any force, you basically open your mouth over the sink and let gravity take over. Or just swallow the liquid instead. Since you aren't having any real pain to speak of, you have a great chance of healing up just fine without any problems coming up, specifically a dry socket. It is true, as a rule, that the easier the extraction goes the easier and faster healing goes. It means not much damage was done to mouth tissues, so not as much has to be healed. Common sense, really, when you think about it. Most people actually don't get a dry socket either, although from what you read here you might think otherwise. When it comes to wisdom teeth, what counts is how long you've had them, if they are impacted or infected, and how easy the process to remove them was. In your case, it sounds like it was pretty straightforward, so I'd expect your healing to be as well. Just mind the jawbone itself, and if you happen to notice the dull ache start, get to the dentist as soon as possible. The only other thing you can do to somewhat hasten healing is to drink the warm liquids and pool them in the cheeks for a bit. That increases blood supply, and all those supplies needed to heal. Good luck, sounds like you are doing well.