EFFICACY OF HYALURONIC ACID ON PREVENTION OF ALVEOLAR OSTEITIS: A PRELIMINARY RESULT

P. Scarano¹ , S.R. Tari¹, M. Di Carmine¹, S. Benedicenti², A. Maltagnati², A. Scarano¹

¹ Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
² Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

Correspondence to:

Annals of Stomatology 2023 May-August; 3(2): 48-53
https://doi.org/10.69129/stomatol/2023v3iss2_7

Received: 21 July 2023 Accepted: 23 August 2023

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Abstract

Alveolar osteitis (AO) (dry socket) is a permanent tooth extraction complication characterized by intense pain and halitosis. This present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of hyaluronic acid in preventing alveolar osteitis after tooth extraction in patients with a clinical history of AO. Adults of 18 years or older (patients with a clinical history of AO and/or traumatic extraction) were included. After tooth extraction, the socket was filled with hyaluronic acid in the test group while left empty in the control group. During healing, the patient’s pain perception was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS), and patients were screened for alveolar osteitis. All sites were evaluated clinically at baseline, after 3, 7, and 15 days. No alveolar osteitis (AO) was recorded in the test group, while only one case of AO was recorded in the control group. Within the limitation of our study, the application of hyaluronic acid after tooth extraction seems to be effective in reducing pain among patients with a clinical history of AO.

Keywords: alveolar osteitis, bone biomaterials, dry socket, hyaluronic acid, socket healing, wound healing