Prevalence of Odontogenic Infections in Primary Facial Spaces and Identify Associated Demographics in Patients Presenting to a Tertiary Care Hospital at Swat
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52206/jsmc.2025.15.1.1026Abstract
Background: Infections originating from the teeth are widespread and severe, posing significant health risks in the oral and facial areas with high rates of morbidity and mortality.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of odontogenic infections in primary facial spaces and identify associated demographic and clinical factors.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Unit at Blind, from January 2023 to April 2024. A total of 159 patients with odontogenic infections in primary facial spaces were included using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. The study involved clinical examinations, investigations, and radiographic imaging to diagnose primary space involvement. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.00, and chisquare test was applied to identify differences in infection frequency by age and gender.
Results: The study involved 159 patients with a mean age of 32.40 years. Moderate pain was most common, affecting 111 patients (69.81%), followed by mild pain in 32 patients (20.13%) and severe pain in 16 patients (10.06%). Sinus involvement occurred in 32 cases (20.13%). The most frequently affected facial space was submandibular, present in 79 cases (49.66%), followed by sublingual in 64 cases (40.25%), and submental in 32 cases (20.13%).
Conclusion: Male patients were more commonly affected by odontogenic infections than female patients. Moderate pain was most frequent, and sinus involvement occurred in some cases. The submandibular space was the most affected, followed by the sublingual and submental spaces.
Keywords: Facial spaces, Odontogenic infections, Pain severity, Submandibular space, Sublingual space, Submental space.
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