Effect of Hyaluronic Acid on the Therapy of Alveolar Osteitis
Effect of Hyaluronic Acid on the Therapy of Alveolar Osteitis
Alveolar osteitis (AO; syn. dry socket) is one of the most frequent complications following
 tooth removal and it is defined as presence of the severe postoperative pain in and around
 the extraction site, which increases in severity at any time between one and three days after
 the extraction, accompanied by a partially or completely disintegrated blood cloth within the
 alveolar socket, with or without halitosis, excluding any other cause of pain on the same
 side of the face (Blum 2002). To enhance standard treatment of AO, which consists of
 curettage of dry socket, rinsing with saline solution, and inducing the bleeding by
 scratching the exposed alveolar bone by an alveolar curette, to reduce pain, numerous
 products have been proposed. One such product could be hyaluronic acid (HY). The aim of the
 present study is to investigate the potential effect of HY gel application in the treatment
 of pain in AO. Furthermore, the combination of HY and absorbable collagen sponge will be
 investigated and compared to standard treatment of AO (blood clot).
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  (1) > 18 years; (2) untreated AO after extraction of a permanent tooth (excluding
 wisdom teeth); and (3) diagnosis of AO based on the criteria of Blum (Blum 2002)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  (1) patients with chronic diseases and/or taking any medication, influencing hard and
 soft tissue healing; (2) pregnancy; (3) history of hypersensitivity or allergy to HY;
 (4) inability to attend follow-up appointments; (5) intake of preoperative
 antibiotics.