Abstract
The aim of the study was to identify the postoperative infection rates after tooth extraction in a university dental clinic and to identify the factors associated with an increased risk for postoperative infection. A retrospective study of case records of patients who underwent tooth extractions at the International Medical University's Oral Health Centre (IMU-OHC) over a span of 6 years was conducted. Data on demography, patient-related factors, and treatment-related factors were extracted from the case records. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the odds ratio of a patient having a postoperative infection or not, comparing it with each variable. A total of 1821 extractions, including simple and complex extractions, were performed over 6 years. Only 25 (1.4%) of the cases were reported to have a postoperative infection. The complexity of the extraction was the only variable that significantly affected the occurrence of postoperative infection after extraction; more complex extractions were reported with higher rates of infection (binary logistic regression, OR = 2.03, p = 0.004). None of the other factors, including antibiotic prescription, had a significant influence on the occurrence of postoperative infection. The prevalence of postoperative infection after dental extractions was low in IMU-OHC, and prescribing antibiotics had no added advantage in the prevention of postoperative infection.
Highlights
Tooth extraction is a procedure that is routinely carried out in dental practices worldwide. e main indications of these extractions include dental caries, periodontal problems, and pericoronitis associated with impacted teeth [1]
Even though some clinicians prescribe antibiotics to prevent postoperative infections after tooth extractions in their dental practice, the issue still remains a controversy in clinical practice up to this day as the possibility of patients acquiring an infection after extraction may be contributed by many factors. e use of antibiotics, the patient’s gender, the patient’s age, presence of systemic disease, smoking, the complexity of extraction, length of surgery, surgical technique, and surgical experience are some of the factors influencing the occurrence of infection after extraction [5,6,7,8]
Two investigators individually performed data collection after identifying the case records based on the treatment codes in OPENDENT, as stated previously. e data that were extracted from the case records included the patient’s age, gender, indication for extraction, type of operator, medical history, the complexity of extraction, antibiotic prescription, type of antibiotic given, postoperative infection, and type of postoperative infection
Summary
Tooth extraction is a procedure that is routinely carried out in dental practices worldwide. e main indications of these extractions include dental caries, periodontal problems, and pericoronitis associated with impacted teeth [1]. E main indications of these extractions include dental caries, periodontal problems, and pericoronitis associated with impacted teeth [1]. This conventional procedure may be associated with certain postoperative complications [2]. According to a Cochrane review of randomized controlled trials, the risk of postoperative infection after a third molar extraction in young patients who are physically fit is approximately 10%. Even though some clinicians prescribe antibiotics to prevent postoperative infections after tooth extractions in their dental practice, the issue still remains a controversy in clinical practice up to this day as the possibility of patients acquiring an infection after extraction may be contributed by many factors. While antibiotics have been reportedly found to be successful in preventing infections after third molar extractions in some studies [9,10,11], there are other studies that
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