The Incidence of Dry Socket Development and Its Risk Factors

Dry socket (alveolar osteitis) is the most commonly encountered complication after tooth extraction in humans, and this has been widely reported. Dry socket lesion, although it is a self-limiting condition, the pain and discomfort that the patient complains of leads to lost days at work and many visits to the hospital. The exact and confirmed etiopathogenesis for dry sockets has yet to be well understood. This study aimed to determine the frequency, clinical picture, and risk factors for dry sockets. A total of 995 patients were included in this study. There were 593 (59.6%) male patients and 402 (40.4%) female patients. The age of patients ranged from 14 -70 years, with a mean of 33.9 ± 11.32 years, from January 2013 to March 2015. All consecutive patients were referred to the surgery Department in Al-Karama specialized dentistry center in Baghdad for consultation. A total of 995 patients were included in this study. Out of 995, 68 patients developed dry sockets (6.83%). Those patients who developed sockets et were between (18-67) years(mean 33.9,sd+11.32), most of them in the third decade of life; there were 593 (59.6%) male patients and 402 (40.4%) female patients with a higher percentage of dry sockets than the female group, 33(48.5%) of 68 cases who developed dry sockets had surgical extraction. There were significant differences in the development of socket pockets between the removal of the two teeth done surgically (51.5%) or non-surgically (48.5%), p= 0.033. The frequency of AO reported in this study is higher than the overall incidence of studies registered. There were significant differences concerning the patient's age and dry socket. There is no relationship between smoking and the occurrence of dry sockets found in the present study. It has been shown that the frequency of AO increases in patients with poor oral hygiene in the literature. Clinically, the picture of the dry socket that includes pain, empty socket and exposed bone were found in all patients. Keywords: Dry socket, frequency, risk factor, oral hygiene, surgical extraction