How should the socket look after getting a tooth out? (worried about dry socket)

[GingerFish]

Probably sounds like a silly question! I got a tooth out yesterday and I am paranoid about developing a dry socket! I've had teeth out in the past but that was about 15 years ago and I was a kid so don't remember it really.

The site is not sore. I get a few twinges of pain in the gum or jaw every so often but its mild and nowhere near bad enough to take a painkiller for. Yesterday and last night, the socket looked just very dark, deep almost black like red and now today when I look at it in the mirror it still looks very red but when I put the flash on my phone there's also some white through the clot as well and around the edge of the socket. I'm just wondering if that is normal? I know white and sockets can mean dry socket.

Like I said, I've not had any teeth out for years and don't really know the healing process by hand plus, I have a health anxiety.

Thanks

[Rennie1989]

You will know if you have dry socket because it will be very painful, a dull pain I've been told. As long as you carefully brush your teeth, eat carefully and take your pain killers as instructed you'll be fine.

[tmckenzie-orr]

And rinse your mouth with salt water , it will help it heal quicker

[GingerFish]

I've been feeling very sick and had really bad stomach cramps since getting the tooth out. Don't know if its just from nerves or from all the oozing from the tooth. Maybe a bit of both.

[tmckenzie-orr]

It will pass lol , it's just nerves off the unknown but your be fine once it starts to heal in a few more days relax

[GingerFish]

Thanks. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed now. Not 100% after the last few days but deffo a lot better than I was. The socket is looking a bit more whitish and the pain isn't really there unless I touch or lean on my jaw.

[Pipkin]

I've had a dry socket and it's incredibly painful. The socket should have a blood clot in it but it's hard to tell sometimes. Sounds like yours is healing just fine.

As the previous poster said, rinse gently with tepid salt water and go easy when eating for a few days.

Pip

[Gary A]

Don't smoke, sneeze with your mouth open (seriously) and don't drink through a straw. All of these things can dislodge the clot that forms. If you haven't developed a dry socket by now then it's unlikely that you will, it's usually the first two or three days that are a risky time period for them, after that the clot is pretty solid.

[GingerFish]

I'm now 6 days on from my extraction and the wound looks like its closing up a bit now. I've had food stuck in it for days. I was told not to try and pick it out as that could disrupt the clot, just rinse with salt water more often. Pain wise, its ok. I feel like I have an ulcer near the extraction site. Keep getting that kind of stingy pain you get with an ulcer when food or your tongue touches it but other than that, everything is fine.

[GingerFish]

How soon after an extraction can you use normal mouthwash again? It's been a week now and I'm just wondering if I can go back to using my normal Listerine.