I had my wisdom teeth removed 1/15/07. Shortly after having them removed I got an infection in my lower right socket. I was given meds to treat this. Since then, things were fine until a few days ago. I've begun to get a bad taste in my mouth when drinking through a straw or eating (on my bottom left side). There isn't any pain or swelling in my mouth so I'm just not sure what it is... I was at the dentist about a month and a half ago and he said that there weren't any problems. Further, I practice decent oral hygene. I'm going to the dentist in two days to treat this in two days and I'm just wondering what to expect. I thought it might be an abcess, however without the pain or swelling, I'm just not sure... Any ideas?

P.S. I quit smoking when I got my wisdom teeth out, is this a symptom?

Sucking on a straw is a clue. This creates a slight vacuum inside your mouth and could be pulling puss/infection from your gums. You may not feel pain but I'd go back to see the dentist. If you do have an infection you will need his scripts to fix you up.

You're not supposed to drink with a straw after the surgery.

I hope everything's OK now!

Certain medications that are used for clearing up infections. One of the side effects IS A STRANGE TASTE, or metallic taste in mouth. If it is from the medicine this is completely normal and a minor side effect to the medication.

Joe

As the poster above said, it could be from the meds you are on, but it also could be your extraction sites. They could be seeping a little bit of blood which will make your breath stink, or you could have food particles stuck in there. You should have gotten a little syringe at your follow-up appointment to flush the sites after eating - are you using it? If you didn't get one, consider picking up a water pic and using VERY GENTLE pressure, hose out the extraction site. Oh, and using a straw this long after your extractions is fine; you just can't do it for the first week or two.