Management of Osteomyelitis of the Jaws: Reports of experience at a Teaching Hospital in Northern Nigeria.

Background: Osteomyelitis of the jaw is an infection of thejaw bones and its marrow, usually caused by pyogenicbacteria or mycobacterium, which could be acute orchronic. It is an infection that spreads away from its primarysource.Objectives: To report the aetiology, clinical features,management and complications of osteomyelitis of thejaws managed in our centre.Methodology: This study was done at Barau DikkoTeaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria. It was a retrospectiveanalysis of patients who were treated for osteomyelitis ofthe jaws. Those who declined our treatment modalitieswere exempted from the study. The study spanned fromJanuary 2013 to December 2023. Patients’ record files wereused to extract the information needed. Records in theradiology unit of the hospital were also used. The datacollected includes: - the age of the patient at presentation,sex, location of the lesion, clinical features, radiologicalreport, treatment modalities and complications of thedisease.Results: Forty-eight patients were included in this study,males were 29, while females were 19 and the ratio of malesaffected by this lesion to females was 1.60: 1.00. This lesionaffected all age groups. The youngest in this study was 9years while the oldest was 83 years. The mandible was moreaffected than the maxilla. The chronic suppurative type wasthe most common while proliferative periostitis was theleast. The most common cause is odontogenic that is toothdecay and advanced periodontitis. The treatment givenincludes antibiotics therapy, rehydration, extraction ofoffending teeth, incision and drainage, curettage,sequestrectomy and decortication. Common complicationswere persistent facial asymmetry in children and recurrencein adults.Conclusion: Osteomyelitis of the jaws could be managedeffectively through the use of antibiotics, and surgicalcurettage. Also, it could be prevented through adequatedissemination of oral health knowledge to the citizens andthe availability of affordable dental services.sequestrectomy.