Life Style

TREATMENT.  
INTRODUCTION.
A wide range of treatment are available for alveolar osteitis and these may be conveniently categorised as:
  1) Antibiotic agents (systemic and local)
  2) Bland obtudent dressings e.g. collagen paste and polylactic acid(PLA).
  3) Analgesic or anodyne dressings e.g. zinc oxide eugenol packs, alvogyl.
  4) Antiseptic dressings e.g idoform gauze,bismuth idoform paraffin paste (BIPP)
  5) Antifibrinolytic agents a.g apernyl cones and traneamic acid.
  6) Surgical intervention to remove necrotic material and encourage new blood clot formation.
  7) Antiseptic mouth rinses prior to dental extraction in an attempt to reduce the oral micro flora e.g chlorehexidine(0.2%)
  8) Lavage of the surgery site prior to wound closure i.e mechanical clearance of bacteria, with normal physiologic saline solution.
  9) Dextranomer granules (wound debidement).
  10) Fibrin sealants.

TREATMENT MODALITIES AND RATIONAL
The management of alveolar osteitis is aimed at its prevention as well as definitive treatment of the afflicted socket.
Traditionally ,medication has been either systemic or local (topical).
Systemic administration is best illustrated by the use of oral and parentral antibiotics. Topical application is usually in the form of socket packs, surgical sponge, dental cones or pastes.
A multitude of drugs have and are being used to treat alveolar osteitis.
In this chapter ,each treatment type will be examined individually and an assessment made of its relative merits.

ANTIBIOTICS:

SYSTEMIC ADMINISTRATION.
The rationale for using antibiotics is based upon the assumption that alveolar osteitis is a bacterial infection, a hypothesis that is yet to be proven.
Nevertheless in the past, some eminent authors, [Guralnick(1968), Thoma(1969),howe(1971) and Killey, Seward and K ay (1971)] have recommended the use of systemic antibiotics to reduce postoperative sequelae, including alveolar osteitis.
Traditionally...