Last week I had a wisdom tooth removed. Everything seems to be healing nicely – some residual pain & swelling, but nothing that Advil & Vicodin can’t handle. Right now, the biggest problem is…well, I’ve got this raw, fleshy, empty tooth socket in my mouth, and I can taste it constantly. It’s like sucking on a great big chunk of ManBeef®.
It was actually kinda cool at first (I’ve always wondered what human flesh tastes like!) but now it’s driving me up the wall. Especially the texture – uggh. Eating food & drinking coffee sometimes helps, but only temporarily. Does anyone know how to get rid of that nasty people taste? Or do I just have to wait it out?
I think I know what you mean, from loosing my milk teeth years ago. It went away (or I just got used to it) so I won’t regale you with quips about a nice Chianti
Well, you could try eating some spicy food or chewing on some strong mints, but I think that could cause a bit of a tingly sensation in your wound.
Maybe carry a bottle of mild mouthwash with you and rinse regularly?
“This, too, shall past.”
Keep your tongue out of the empty socket. IF you can. Let it heal and seal.
Till then sugarless gum might help to keep you tongue busy elsewhere.
Took three sessions to get all four out of my mouth but don’t recall a problem of taste. Once the bleeding stops there should be nothing left to taste.
Might I suggest a little hair of the dog, so to speak? I’ll rustle up some for you if you’re a little squeamish about that sort of thing. There’s a crowded mall near where I work.
Other than that, I recommend the mouthwash, and occasional Chloraseptic lozenges.
I feel your pain. My wisdom teeth came out reluctantly, and in pieces. The hole they left behind was big enough to hold loose change. I tasted blood for months (long after the hole healed over.)
Two foods that worked for me - ice cream and red meat. Obviously not at the same time, and not always effective. But more often than not, I was able to mask the flavor of the tooth hole with these.
You know those zinc lozenges some folks take for colds? One or two of those a day will give you an overpowering bad taste that will cover up the blood taste.
Or, you could go the other direction. Ora-gel (or your drugstore’s house brand) oral anesthetic, applied to your tongue, will make it impossible to taste anything.
As your doc probably told you, don’t drink anything through a straw for a few weeks. If you have the unconscious habit of maintaining a slight suction in your mouth to keep your jaw from dropping open, stop it. Otherwise, you’re sucking your own blood.
Other people have told me about the no-straw thing, but strangely, my dentist never mentioned it…
There hasn’t been any bleeding since the first day, or at least not enough to show up in spit. It doesn’t really taste like blood, anyway…more like spicy, tangy pork that’s been marinating for several days. Mouthwash does seem to help, temporarily. I’ll give Ora-Gel a try, too. Thanks for the advice.
Immediately after having my wisdom teeth pulled, I took some pain meds and watched the Godfather trilogy. Somehow, the taste of blood in my mouth made the movies that much cooler . . . it seemed totally appropriate.
