Prevalence and risk factors of dry socket among diabetic patients following tooth extraction: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: One of the most common and carried out dental procedure is tooth extraction worldwide. Although massive advancements and progress has been made in the surgical maneuver and in preventing post-operative complication by enhancing and paying detailed attention to post-operative care, dry socket also known as alveolar osteitis, continues to be one of the most stressful and distressing post-operative complication in recent times.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in hospital-based with the aim to investigate the prevalence of dry sockets and associated risk factors among diabetic patients undergoing tooth extraction. The study was conducted over a six-month period from March 2025 to August 2025. The target population comprised of diabetic patients presenting to the outpatient department who required tooth extraction under local anesthesia.

Results: The findings indicated that demographic and clinical variables including gender, smoking status, graduation status, endodontic treatment history, diabetes (Type 1 and 2), oral hygiene levels, and extraction difficulty showed no statistical relationship with the development of dry socket on either Day 2 or Day 5. The only factor showing a significant association with dry sockets was the number of postoperative visits. Patients who required multiple follow-up visits had a much higher incidence of dry socket, reflected by a highly significant p-value of less than 0.001.

Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that about 11 to 11.7 percent of diabetic patients undergoing tooth extraction developed dry sockets.