A review of dry socket: a double-blind study on the effectiveness of clindamycin in reducing the incidence of dry socket.

This double blind clinical study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of locally applied clindamycin in Gelfoam in reducing the incidence of dry socket formation after third molar surgery. A total of 1,021 third molar extractions were performed, and 520 mandibular third molar extractions of varied surgical difficulty were evaluated. The results indicated that this technique was effective. This study also demonstrates that the incidence of dry socket after third molar surgery is significantly higher in the mandible than the maxilla, in smokers than in non-smokers, and in females currently on oral contraceptives.