“Should a dental bone graft hurt 3 days after surgery?”

Dear Reader, Thanks for the question.  I don't know what kind of graft you had (e.g. ridge preservation, onlay, ridge augmentation, etc.) but many times the pain comes not from the bone but from soft tissue being cut and manipulated. Gum has a ton of nerve endings.  Also, there is a super-thin membrane called periosteum which covers the bone and is loaded with nerve endings as well.  This also gets cut and scraped during the procedure.  Depending upon the size of the graft area and how aggressively the tissues were manipulated, you could have pain for 5 to 7 days. It would then taper down.  Usually, after 10 to 14 days you should feel fine.  I normally see graft patients 5- 7 days after surgery, then two weeks after that to make sure they are healing well and have little to no pain. If you don't feel any improvement by the fifth day, I would contact your dentist/periodontist/oral surgeon, and have them check things out. Hope this help

Depending on how invasive the surgery is, the pain could last for week.