Clinical Diagnosis of Dry Socket: Virginia’s General Dentist Population Analysis

Objectives: It is hypothesized that general dentist have adequate knowledge of clinical diagnosis of dry socket to be able to treat it effectively. The objective of this study was to survey the general dentist population in Virginia to determine their existing clinical knowledge and to identify if there is need of emphasis on this subject in continuing education for general dentists in Virginia.
Methods: A questionnaire on the post-extraction complications was emailed to registered general dentists in Virginia (n=300). Questionnaire had three gold standard diagnostic criterions of pain starting on second or third day, fetid odor and absence of organizing clot deemed as correct answers along with symptoms not associated with clinical diagnosis of dry socket as distractors.
Results: Response rate for survey was 88% (n=264). 36% of the general dentists identified all three correct symptoms of dry socket. 76% of general dentists recognized fetid odor, 64% perceived the pain to be persistent from day of extraction and 58% chose the absence of organized clot as only symptom. 28% chose "pus in the socket" as correct answer.
Conclusions: Dry socket is recognized as most common post extraction complaint presented to genral dentist. In this study, we introduce the first quantifiable survey of a specific general dental dentist population and its perception on dry socket. There has been several studies conducted on prevalence of dry socket and its treatment. Based on the results of this survey, we feel there is need of emphasis on dry socket and its clinical diagnosis in continuing education for general dentists. Future surveys can be directed towards comparing general dentist’s knowledge of dry socket with oral surgeons.