Objectives: Alveolar osteitis (AC) is a known complication of mandibular third molar surgery. The reported incidence of AC following third molar extractions ranges from 1% to 30% (1). Hermesch reported an incidence of 23.3% of AC in mandibular third molar extractions. This incidence decreased to 13% with chlorhexidine mouthrinse (2). Risk factors for AC include: smoking, oral contraceptives, surgeon's experience, and poor oral hygiene (2, 3). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of TC in decreasing the incidence of AC in mandibular third molar surgery.

Methods: This is a retrospective study that evaluated mandibular third molar extractions in a private practice from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004. Patients of all ages were evaluated and none were excluded. The variables were categorized according to age, gender, ASA classification, third molar classification, complications, and occurrence of AC. All patients received TC at the extraction sites of mandibular third molars intraoperatively.

Results: A total of 169 patient charts were reviewed in a retrospective fashion. 285 third molar extraction sites were evaluated. The number of extractions was as follows: #17: 141 (49.47%), and #32: 144 (50.53%). AC occurred in 16/285 extraction sites (5.61%). AC occurred in 11/16 sites in females (68.75%) and in 5/16 sites in males (31.25%). AC occurred in extraction site #17: 11/16 (68.75%) and in extraction site #32: 5/16 (31.25%). AC occurred in 3/10 smokers (30%) and in 1/13 females on oral contraceptives (7.70%). The age group with the highest incidence was 51-60: 2/11 (18.18%).

Conclusions: The results of this study show that using tetracycline intraoperatively is beneficial in reducing the incidence of AC. Additionally, patients with known risk factors such as smoking or oral contraceptive have an increased incidence of AC.

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