Alveolar osteitis

Alveolar osteitis
Other namesDry socket, fibrinolytic alveolitis
Alveolar osteitis of a socket after extraction of all maxillary teeth; note lack of blood clot in socket and exposed alveolar bone
SpecialtyDentistry Edit this on Wikidata

Alveolar osteitis, also known as dry socket, is inflammation of the alveolar bone (i.e., the alveolar process of the maxilla or mandible). Classically, this occurs as a postoperative complication of tooth extraction.

Alveolar osteitis usually occurs where the blood clot fails to form or is lost from the socket (i.e., the defect left in the gum when a tooth is taken out). This leaves an empty socket where bone is exposed to the oral cavity, causing a localized alveolar osteitis limited to the lamina dura (i.e., the bone which lines the socket). This specific type is known as dry socket and is associated with increased pain and delayed healing.[1]

Dry socket occurs in 0.5% to 5% of routine dental extractions,[2][3][4][5] and in about 25–30% of extractions of mandibular (lower) wisdom teeth that are impacted (buried in the bone of the lower jaw, erupting during adulthood).[1]

  1. ^ a b Neville, BW; Damm, DD; Allen, CM; Bouquot, JE (2002). Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders. p. 133. ISBN 0721690033.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wray 2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Parthasarathi, K.; Smith, A.; Chandu, A. (2011). "Factors Affecting Incidence of Dry Socket: A Prospective Community-Based Study". Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 69: 1880–1884. doi:10.1016/j.joms.2010.11.006. PMID 21419540.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Soames 1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Daly, Blánaid Jm; Sharif, Mohammad O.; Jones, Kate; Worthington, Helen V.; Beattie, Anna (2022-09-26). "Local interventions for the management of alveolar osteitis (dry socket)". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 9: CD006968. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006968.pub3. ISSN 1469-493X. PMC 9511819. PMID 36156769.