The Dry Socket Even though they aren t life threatening like bleeding or abscesses, dry sockets can be extremely painful. They are very common following surgery, and happen to be one of the most painful post extraction problems. Dry sockets are more common with removal of the lower teeth than they are with removal of upper teeth. Most adults tend to spend less than a minute, which isn t enough time to clean your teeth. To get the right amount of time brushing, you should try using a stopwatch while you brush. When you brush your teeth, you should avoid using pressure but instead use short, gentle strokes. You should focus on hard to reach places, and make sure that you get the areas between your teeth as well. The last type of fracture is the most difficult to deal with. Vertical apical root fractures occur with the tip of the root, and can cause you severe to intense pain, even if you ve had the nerve removed with a root canal. Even though the nerve may not be present, vertical apical root fractures cause a lot of pain, which occurs in the tooth. No matter how well your filling or crown was done, the materials that were used to fix the tooth can end up causing pain later on down the road. There really is nothing you can do, as crowns can sometimes come off or the filling can sometimes come out. If this happens, all you can really do is go back to the dentist to get the problem fixed. Dentists were just starting to come around, although they didn t have near the equipment and sophistication that they have these days. Even though teeth were pulled during these times, it normally happened with alcohol to numb the pain then pliers to remove the tooth. Throughout the course of time, herbs have proven to be very effective with stopping toothache pain. Normally, this will result in a filling, crown, or root canal, although you won t have to have the tooth removed. Dentists always look to save teeth, as they don t like to remove a tooth unless they absolutely have to. If the tooth has become abscessed, the dentist will put you on antibiotics such as penicillin until the infection has subsided enough to remove the tooth.