Honestly, I felt the same way—nothing really touched the pain except the meds. The dentist packed my socket with this clove-smelling stuff and that numbed it for a few hours, but after that, it was back to waiting it out. Ibuprofen was the only thing that made it bearable for me.
I totally get where you’re coming from—dry socket pain is brutal. But honestly, I found the clove stuff actually made things worse for me because the taste was so strong I felt nauseous. Weirdly, rinsing super gently with warm salt water helped dull it a bit, at least for a while. Not perfect, but it took the edge off more than I expected. Ibuprofen didn’t do much for me, but everyone’s different, I guess...
My kid had a dry socket after getting a tooth pulled, and honestly, the salt water rinse didn’t do much for her. The dentist ended up packing the socket with some medicated gauze, and that was the only thing that gave her real relief. I was surprised how quickly it helped—she could finally sleep. The clove oil smell was pretty intense, but she didn’t seem to mind it as much as I did. Maybe kids are just less bothered by weird flavors?
Packing with medicated gauze made all the difference for my teenager too. Salt water and over-the-counter painkillers just didn’t cut it—she was miserable until the dentist did the dressing. The clove oil smell is no joke, though. I actually gagged a little sitting next to her, but she shrugged it off. Maybe younger folks just have stronger stomachs or something? Did your dentist have to re-pack it, or was one time enough?
That clove oil smell really lingers, doesn’t it? My dentist had to re-pack mine twice because the pain kept coming back after a day or two. Did your teenager get relief right away, or did it take a couple tries? I found ibuprofen barely touched it until the medicated gauze went in.