Oral Surgery · patient case question
Plain gut suture placed in the socket will typically resorb over what period?
Patient case: Third Molar Surgery and Its Complications
demo: 24-year-old female
chief: “The gum over my lower wisdom tooth is swollen and I can barely open.”
history: Smokes 10 cigarettes daily. Takes combined oral contraceptives. Poor oral hygiene.
meds: Combined oral contraceptive pill
findings: Partially erupted #17 with an inflamed, edematous operculum, purulent exudate on pressure, trismus, and tenderness. Extraction is planned. Four days after a previous extraction of #32, she developed severe radiating pain with an empty socket and exposed bone.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. 3–5 days
- A. Chromic gut, treated with chromium salts, extends this to roughly 10–14 days.
- B. Correct. Plain gut is digested by proteolytic enzymes and loses tensile strength within roughly 3–5 days — the shortest-lived of the resorbable sutures.
- C. Polyglactin 910 (Vicryl) retains strength for several weeks before hydrolytic breakdown.
- D. Polydioxanone (PDS) is the long-lasting monofilament resorbable in that range.