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Tests and diagnosis

By Mayo Clinic staff

Severe pain following a tooth extraction is often enough for your dentist or oral surgeon to suspect dry socket. Your dentist or oral surgeon also will ask about any other symptoms and examine your mouth. He or she will check to see if you have a blood clot in your tooth socket and whether you have exposed bone.

You may need to have X-rays taken of your mouth and teeth to rule out other conditions, such as a bone infection (osteomyelitis).

Treatments and drugs Preparing for your appointment
References
  1. Neville BW, et al. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009:120.
  2. Summers A. Emergency management of alveolar osteitis. Emergency Nurse. 2011;19:28.
  3. Roberts JR, et al. Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/202633129-4/0/2083/0.html#. Accessed May 27, 2013.
  4. Krakowiak, PA. Alveolar osteitis and osteomyelitis of the jaws. The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinics of North America. 2011;23:401.
  5. Cardoso CL, et al. Clinical concepts of dry socket. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 2010;68:1922.
  6. Dodson T. Prevention and treatment of dry socket. Evidence-Based Dentistry. 2013;14:13.
  7. Preparing for third molar removal. NIH Clinical Center. National Institutes of Health. http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/tests_procedures.html. Accessed May 27, 2013.
  8. Daly B, et al. Local interventions for the management of alveolar osteitis (dry socket). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006968.pub2/abstract. Accessed May 27, 2013.
  9. Fenton DA, et al. Perioperative strategies for third molar surgery. Atlas of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinics of North America. 2012;20:25.
  10. Sheridan PJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 26, 2013.
DS00778 July 16, 2013

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