Operational Definitions and Case Ascertainment of Alveolar Osteitis After Tooth Extraction: A Structured Narrative Review and Methodological Implications for Sports Dentistry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.75.75915Keywords
alveolar osteitis, dry socket, narrative review, operational definition, case ascertainment, sports dentistryAbstract
Background. Alveolar osteitis (AO) is a painful post-extraction complication, but its terminology, diagnostic criteria, timing, and case-ascertainment procedures are heterogeneous.
Aim. To synthesize how AO is operationally defined and identified in clinical studies and to discuss implications for reproducibility and sports-dentistry research.
Material and methods. This structured narrative review was informed by broad searches of six bibliographic databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus, Web of Science, and LILACS) through 1 September 2026. Source selection for narrative discussion was purposive and prioritized reports with explicit diagnostic rules, timing, ascertainment, examiner procedures, or unit-of-analysis information. The review was not conducted as a prospectively locked systematic-review workflow.
Results. Definitions variably combined postoperative pain with clot loss/disintegration, an empty socket, exposed bone, halitosis, and different timing rules. Ascertainment pathways, examiner standardization, diagnostic units, denominators, and handling of within-patient clustering also varied.
Conclusions. AO research should report explicit case logic, symptom-onset windows, assessment schedules, ascertainment pathways, examiner procedures, and analytic units. These principles are relevant to athlete oral-health research, although evidence does not support AO as a sport-specific disorder.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Weronika Jagiełło, Natalia Le Hong, Natalia Dymel, Natasza Jankowska, Karolina Kukuczka, Gabriela Karpińska, Kamila Kędzior, Sonia Krzykawska
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