A randomized comparative study of warm saline mouth rinse protocols for prevention of Alveolar Osteitis following dental extractions

Abstract

Background: Warm saline mouth rinse (WSMR) for the prevention of alveolar osteitis (AO) following tooth extraction has been proven to be beneficial. The current practice of patients performing WSMR for 6-8 times a day for one week is cumbersome especially for patients in the working class.
Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of different WSMR regimes (frequency and duration) on incidence of AO in patients who had intra-alveolar extraction. Methods: There were 253 participants with mean age of 29.3±8.4 years. They were randomly divided into four groups. Group1 had WSMR six times daily for 7 days; group 2, twice daily for 7 days; group 3, six times daily for 3 days, and group 4, twice daily for 3 days. Subjects were reviewed on the 3rd and 7th day post extraction.
Results: The overall incidence of AO was 4.3%. Incidence of AO among group 1,2,3, and 4 were 4.8%, 3.2%, 4.8%, and 4.6% respectively. Occurrence of AO was not statistically significantly affected by either frequency or duration of WSMR (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: We recommend WSMR twice daily as prophylactic measure for AO to allow for patient convenience and increase compliance.