I recently had a tooth extracted on 2/12/10. After the swelling went down I noticed there was a somewhat long hard thing sticking out of my gums. I begin to move my mouth around and it came loose and began to travel through my gums. I also felt as if it stuck me at times. I immediately returned to the dentist office on the following Tuesday. She stated that she did not feel anything. She advised me to wait until the following Tuesday to see if any bone or left over teeth would work it's way through the gums. Well the pain was too great and the fact that it kept moving under my gums was annoying. I saw an oral surgeon on Thursday. He stated that it was simply loose tissue. He packed it down (the tissue) and advised me not to touch it with my hand or tongue. However, it still feels really hard under my gums as if something is sticking me. Is this common after an extraction? Is there anyway that they did not detect loose bone or teeth in the X-ray? Please help!

It could very well be a bone chip. Was an x-ray taken when you saw the oral surgeon?
Bone chips will often work their way to the surface and you'll be able to use tweezers to remove it. Just continue rinsing with warm salt water for the next few days.