Alveolar osteitis or dry socket is a common and painful complication of tooth extraction, occurring following about 5% of all tooth extractions.  The aetiology of this complication is unclear and it has been associated with a wide range of risk factors. the aim of this study was to assess the relation between 8 risk factors (patient gender, oral hygiene, tooth location, previous surgical site infection, traumatic extraction, systemic diseases, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use) and the development of alveolar osteitis.

This was a prospective nested case-control study. From a baseline cohort of  1423 adults who underwent dental extractions in a public community dental clinic in, Chile 80 incident case patients with alveolar osteitis were identified. Theses were compared with 80 controls randomized from all control participants completing the follow-up (1,222).  Data on the 8 predictor variables (risk factors), namely patient gender, hygiene, tooth location, previous surgical site infection, traumatic extraction, systemic diseases, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use were collected  and a binary regression logistic analysis was performed to determine significant associations.

They found

• An overall incidence of  Alveolar osteitis  of   6.14% .
• A statistically significant association for the development of alveolar osteitis was found for traumatic extraction ,tobacco smoking after extraction  and previous surgical site infection.

[table id=18 /]

The authors concluded

In this study, traumatic extraction, tobacco use, and previous surgical site infection were identified as risk factors for the development of alveolar osteitis.

Halabí D, Escobar J, Muñoz C, Uribe S. Logistic Regression Analysis of Risk Factors for the Development of Alveolar Osteitis. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2012 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22305872