504 - Battle of the Irrigants: An Audit to assess the type of irrigants used in the management of alveolar osteitis
G Jeyatheswaran J Gillespie H Roberts
Presented by: Gabby Jeyatheswaran
Community Dental Service CwmTaf
Introduction Chlorhexidine is often used as an antimicrobial irrigant in the management of alveolar osteitis. However, the potential for chlorhexidine to cause an anaphylactic reaction can easily be overlooked. Given the global increase in reporting of anaphylaxis incidents after chlorhexidine use, dentists should be more aware of its potential adverse effects. Clinicians should also be aware of the lack of evidence to demonstrate the benefits of irrigating with chlorhexidine in the management of alveolar osteitis and should be aware of the recommended use of saline as an alternative to chlorhexidine. Method A retrospective audit was carried out to assess the types of irrigant being used in the management of alveolar osteitis by dentists within two Urgent Dental Centres. Based on the current evidence base and SDCEP guidelines, it was expected that 100% of alveolar osteitis cases would be irrigated with saline. Through electronic record analysis, 32 alveolar osteitis cases were identified from the 14th April 2020 to 19th November 2020 and 26 cases were identified from 10th December 2020 to 17th February 2021 during the second cycle. Results The results of the first audit cycle suggested that out of 32 alveolar osteitis cases, 17 cases were irrigated with chlorhexidine, 11 cases were irrigated with saline, 1 case was irrigated with sterile water and 3 cases were not irrigated. The results of the second cycle suggested that of the 26 alveolar osteitis cases, 24 cases were irrigated with saline and 2 cases were irrigated with chlorhexidine. Conclusions The results suggest that the vast majority of clinicians are now managing alveolar osteitis by irrigating with saline. This suggests that saline may be more readily available in clinics than before and clinicians have decided to alter their clinical practice in line with the current evidence base and guidelines. This change in clinical practice should reduce the chance of an adverse incident occurring.
Consent Statement: There are no details on individual patients reported within the abstract.
Poster