ITALIAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL MEDICINE VOL. 4/3-2019 40 extraction of teeth/tooth in oral surgical procedures (2). It is a painful acute inflammation of the alveolar bone around the extracted tooth and it is depicted by severe pain, breakdown of the clot formed within the socket making the socket empty (devoid of clot), and often filled with food debris (3). Usually there is mild swelling and redness of the gingival, halitosis, bone exposure, and severe tenderness on examination. Introduction Exodontia is one of the commonest procedures in oral surgery and dentistry (1). It may take different forms such as routine extraction or surgical complicated procedure. There are many complications associated with the extraction procedures such as pain, bleeding trismus and dry socket (2). Dry socket is considered the most common major complication that follows Incidence of alveolar osteitis in diabetic patients attending university hospital Lourdes Jallo, Hawra Fadhul, Mohammed AlMoosa, Jawaher Al Romaihi, Mohammed Nofal, Reem Khalil, Ahmed Emad Obaid, Shishir Ram Shetty* DMD Student , College of Dentistry, Gulf Medical university, Ajman, United Arab Emirates *Assistant Professor and Specialist in Oral Medicine and Radiology, College of Dentistry, Gulf Medical University, Ajman Alveolar Osteitis, Diabetes, Incidence, Survey, Students. Aim: The primary objective of this study is to determine the incidence of alveolar osteitis in diabetic patients. While the secondary objectives are to evaluate the relationship of alveolar osteitis in diabetic patients and age, assess the incidence of alveolar osteitis between diabetic vs. non- diabetic patients, evaluate the relationship of alveolar osteitis between males and females, and finally to observe the incidence of alveolar osteitis between smokers and non-smokers. Materials and Methods: The design of the research is a cross sectional study intended to assess the incidence of alveolar osteitis among diabetic patients. Results: Data were analyzed using SPSS software. This research paper consisted of a sample of 100 subjects, of whom 61% were aged between 20-30 years; 58% were males; 30% were medical students; 66% were smokers and 10% had smoked immediately after tooth extraction; 29 % were diabetic patients controlled with medication and diet. The majority of the participants, 75%, underwent extraction in the a lower jaw and 99% involved posterior teeth, whereas 38% did not recall when the extraction had been done. In 63% of subjects pain was the most experienced complication after the extraction, which occurred between 1st -3rd day in 42% of the cases. The type of pain was sharp in 37% of cases and many, 33%, had pain radiating to the jaw area. Halitosis was experienced by 26% of the subjects and 69% of them did not recall when they had started experiencing the bad smell. 37% visited the dentist for a follow-up visit after 1 week and only 37% had knowledge about alveolar osteitis. 39% of the subjects did experience alveolar osteitis and 44% perceived the cause to be due to not following the dentist’s instructions. Conclusion: This study investigated the incidence of alveolar osteitis between diabetic and non-diabetic patients and among Gulf Medical University students and patients in the teaching hospital. The sample subjects were asked to fill a questionnaire then data was collected and analyzed. Males had higher experience of alveolar osteitis than females. However, on the contrary, other studies did not support that, and this could not reflect the true incidence and further investigations are required. Mandibular extractions had higher risk of alveolar osteitis than maxillary extraction. Pain was the most reported complication experienced after the extractions and the pain radiation was mostly to the jaw. Additionally, none of the previous studies in the literature review have considered asking the participants about their previous extraction experience date. However, within the limits of this research paper, the results were acceptable. In future research papers, a longitudinal study could be conducted, in which the subjects could be followed and an accurate blood glucose level could be specified to be able to generalize the results. KEYWORDS ABSTRACT