Anyone who just had a tooth extracted should avoid drinking through a straw, because the suction will interfere with healthier clotting. "Avoid smoking, which can contaminate the extraction site, and excessive mouth rinsing, which may also interfere with blood clotting," says Dr. Rich.

"Women have a greater chance than men to develop dry socket," says Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) spokesperson Barbara A. Rich, DDS, FAGD. "But, for women who take oral contraceptives, their likelihood of developing a dry socket is twice as likely because of their increased estrogen level."

Women who take oral contraceptives are approximately 30 percent more likely to experience dry socket after molar extractions performed in the first 22 days of their menstrual cycle.

"Unless there is an emergency, women using birth control should try to schedule their extractions during the last week of their cycle, when estrogen levels are inactive," recommends Dr. Rich. "The healing process can then begin immediately."

Dry socket, the most common postoperative complication from tooth extractions, delays the normal healing process and results when the newly formed blood clot in the extraction site does not form correctly or is prematurely lost. This blood clot lays the foundation for new tissue and bone to develop over a two-month healing process.