Antibiotics and your dentist

Many people have been diagnosed with mild abnormalities of their heart valves which do not have any significant negative effect on their health. One of the most common examples is mitral valve prolapse.

For many years, these people have been encouraged to take preventive antibiotics before visiting their dentist to prevent infection starting on their heart valves.

These guidelines have recently changed!

    * Contrary to what experts believed until now, there is no proof that common surgical procedures increase the risk of bacterial infection starting within the heart.

    * Because of this, the current practice of giving patients antibiotics prior to a dental procedure is no longer recommended EXCEPT for patients with the highest risk. These people are people with:

   1. artificial heart valves

   2. previous infection in the heart

   3. severe heart malformations

   4. heart transplant

    * NO preventive antibiotics are recommended for bowel and bladder surgeries any more.

    * For operations involving lungs, infected skin, or joints, preventive antibiotics are only recommended for the severe categories listed above.

Please call your health care provider to discuss.

Click here to get the latest guidelines from the American Heart Association.