Patient Compliance to Post-extraction Instructions in Prevention of Alveolar Osteitis (Dry Socket): A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Background Alveolar osteitis, also known as dry socket, is a common post-extraction complication that can delay healing and cause significant discomfort for patients. While preventive strategies are well documented, patient compliance with post-extraction instructions plays a critical role in reducing their incidence. In Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, limited data exists on patient compliance to post-extraction instructions, making it difficult to assess their impact on postoperative outcomes. The study aims to assess Patient Compliance with post-extraction instructions in the prevention of Alveolar Osteitis and to determine the factors associated with it. Methods We included 303 patients who underwent extractions, either surgical or nonsurgical, at the maxillofacial department of Khyber College of Dentistry, using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. The post-extraction instructions were provided verbally in accordance with guidelines in the local language. One week later, patients were contacted to gather information about their adherence to post-operative instructions through a questionnaire to assess the level of compliance. Using SPSS v 22, descriptive statistics were reported for all variables. Regression analysis was applied to find the strength of association between the independent variables and the level of compliance and dry socket. Results 51.2% were male and 48.8% were female. A total of 161 (53.1%) patients showed compliance (score 8 and above) with the instructions while 142 (46.9%) showed partial compliance (score 5–7). The regression analysis revealed that higher compliance with post-extraction instructions was associated with a lower odds ratio of developing a dry socket. The higher compliance variables are higher education and above, surgical extraction, impacted tooth and posterior tooth extraction, while the non-compliance variables are employed and self-employed. Regarding compliance with post-extraction instructions in the prevention of dry socket, results are statistically significant with P < 0.05. Conclusion The study found a strong correlation between compliance and factors such as education level, employed, operator status, posterior tooth extraction, impacted tooth and extraction technique. Higher compliance significantly reduced the risk of alveolar osteitis. Enhancing patient education and emphasizing adherence to post extraction instructions can effectively minimize post extraction complication.