The American Heart Association (AHA) believed for decades that dental patients with heart disease should premedicate with antibiotics before dental procedures. It was determined that premedication would prevent bacteria from entering the bloodstream and creating an infection in the heart's lining or valves.
New research shows that the risks of preventive antibiotics outweigh the benefits for most patients because our hearts are exposed to bacteria from our mouths through daily brushing and flossing, which are more likely to cause IE (infective endocarditis) than a dental procedure.
The AHA's new guidelines recommend that, "most of these patients no longer need short-term antibiotics as a preventive measure before their dental treatment."
The following people who routinely took prophylactic antibiotics in the past no longer need to:
1. Mitral valve prolapse
2. Rheumatic heart disease
3. Bicuspid valve disease
4. Calcified aortic stenosis
5. Congenital heart conditions: ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Preventive antibiotics remain advised for the following patients:
1. Artificial heart valves
2. A history of infective endocarditis
3. Certain specific, serious congenital (present from birth) heart conditions including:
- unrepaired or incompletely repaired cyanotic congenital heart disease, including palliative shunts and conduits
- a completely repaired congenital heart defect with prosthetic material or device, whether placed by surgery or by catheter intervention during the first six month after the site procedure
- any repaired congenital heart defect with residual defect at the site or adjacent to the site of a prosthetic patch or a prosthetic device
4. A cardiac transplant that develops a problem in a heart valve.
Guidelines for patients with total joint replacement have not changed.
Many dental professionals are requesting written consent from attending cardiologists, some of whom have not yet been informed of the new guidelines, which were published in the AHA's scientific journal,
Circulation, in April 2007, and were brought to my attention by my periodontist and his staff in October. I had been there three months earlier for a periodontal cleaning and was not told then because they hadn't been notified yet.
After decades of premedicating before dental procedures, including cleanings because of my congenital heart murmur, I am afraid to eliminate antibiotics before a procedure and chose to cut my dosage in half. My periodontist gave me a course of three 500 milligram antibiotics after my recent laser periodontal surgery.
AHA guidelines say that, "maintaining optimal oral health and practicing daily oral hygiene are more important in reducing the risk of IE (infective endocarditis) than taking preventive antibiotics before a dental visit."
Discuss questions and concerns about antibiotics with your cardiologist and your dental professionals.
Visit
http://www.ada.org/ Health Topics: Antibiotics and Your Teeth for more information.
What I know for sure is that it's all connected.
Saundra Goodman
Got Teeth? A Survivor's Guide
How to keep your teeth or live without them.
http://www.gotteethguide.com/
New research shows that the risks of preventive antibiotics outweigh the benefits for most patients because our hearts are exposed to bacteria from our mouths through daily brushing and flossing, which are more likely to cause IE (infective endocarditis) than a dental procedure.
The AHA's new guidelines recommend that, "most of these patients no longer need short-term antibiotics as a preventive measure before their dental treatment."
The following people who routinely took prophylactic antibiotics in the past no longer need to:
1. Mitral valve prolapse
2. Rheumatic heart disease
3. Bicuspid valve disease
4. Calcified aortic stenosis
5. Congenital heart conditions: ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Preventive antibiotics remain advised for the following patients:
1. Artificial heart valves
2. A history of infective endocarditis
3. Certain specific, serious congenital (present from birth) heart conditions including:
- unrepaired or incompletely repaired cyanotic congenital heart disease, including palliative shunts and conduits
- a completely repaired congenital heart defect with prosthetic material or device, whether placed by surgery or by catheter intervention during the first six month after the site procedure
- any repaired congenital heart defect with residual defect at the site or adjacent to the site of a prosthetic patch or a prosthetic device
4. A cardiac transplant that develops a problem in a heart valve.
Guidelines for patients with total joint replacement have not changed.
Many dental professionals are requesting written consent from attending cardiologists, some of whom have not yet been informed of the new guidelines, which were published in the AHA's scientific journal, Circulation, in April 2007, and were brought to my attention by my periodontist and his staff in October. I had been there three months earlier for a periodontal cleaning and was not told then because they hadn't been notified yet.
After decades of premedicating before dental procedures, including cleanings because of my congenital heart murmur, I am afraid to eliminate antibiotics before a procedure and chose to cut my dosage in half. My periodontist gave me a course of three 500 milligram antibiotics after my recent laser periodontal surgery.
AHA guidelines say that, "maintaining optimal oral health and practicing daily oral hygiene are more important in reducing the risk of IE (infective endocarditis) than taking preventive antibiotics before a dental visit."
Discuss questions and concerns about antibiotics with your cardiologist and your dental professionals.
Visit http://www.ada.org/ Health Topics: Antibiotics and Your Teeth for more information.
What I know for sure is that it's all connected.
Saundra Goodman
Got Teeth? A Survivor's Guide
How to keep your teeth or live without them.
http://www.gotteethguide.com/