Pus after tooth extraction

The socket after tooth extraction is a wound that heals naturally under normal circumstances. A blood clot forms in it, protecting the wound and promoting the healing process. For pus to begin forming at the site of the extracted tooth, an infection must enter the socket.

The causes of infection can vary: from poor oral hygiene to remnants of low-quality filling material or tooth fragments in the socket. The patient may also accidentally or deliberately wash out (lick out with the tongue) the blood clot from the socket, exposing the wound to infection.

When people say “gums,” they mean the oral mucosa. Infection of the mucosa after tooth extraction leads to the formation of an abscess (a localized collection of pus in the tissues).

Causes of abscess formation:

• poor oral hygiene;
• presence of diseases in teeth located near the extraction site, which can serve as a source of infection;
• patient immunodeficiency (including HIV or as a result of chemotherapy);
• diabetes mellitus.

Symptoms:

• swelling and redness of the mucosa;
• pain;
• fever;
• bad breath;
• difficulty opening the mouth;
• unpleasant taste in the mouth.

In addition to infections, the presence of foreign material in the socket can lead to suppuration. Sometimes after tooth extraction, part of the filling material may remain in the socket (in cases where the tooth had been treated before extraction), a root fragment, or bone tissue. All of this can provoke an inflammatory process and suppuration.

Treatment of suppuration after tooth extraction involves surgical incision of the abscess and its irrigation (debridement). This procedure should be performed by an oral surgeon or maxillofacial surgeon. After opening the abscess, the doctor prescribes medication therapy: antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Self-treatment is unacceptable. Attempts to open the abscess on your own can lead to the spread of infection and severe complications.

An abscess that is not opened in time can develop into phlegmon (diffuse purulent inflammation) that spreads to the soft tissues of the face and neck. In the most severe cases, the inflammation can reach the mediastinum (the space between the lungs), causing mediastinitis – a condition that directly threatens the patient’s life.

Therefore, at any signs of suppuration after tooth extraction, you should immediately see a doctor. You cannot wait, endure pain, and hope that “it will go away on its own.”

Sometimes patients confuse pus with fibrin. Fibrin is a protein deposit that forms on the wound surface during the normal healing process. It has a whitish or yellowish color and may resemble pus. Unlike pus, fibrin deposits do not have an unpleasant odor and are not accompanied by pain, swelling, or fever.