Why Your Dentist May Ask You To Take Antibiotics Before Dental Surgery
8th / March / 2017
The teeth are not isolated from the rest of the body. Procedures such as heart transplants, joint surgery and the insertion of artificial heart valves can leave you vulnerable to bacteria when your dentist gets to work on your smile.
Most patients have no issues recovering after dental surgery. But, patients with the above mentioned conditions (and patients who have undergone other types of surgery) can be vulnerable to bacteria entering their bloodstream after a tooth extraction or other dental procedure. These bacteria:
- Can pose problems for an immune system weakened after surgery
- May cause the body to reject artificial joints and valves
- Can attach to artificial valves and multiply
As this article explains, usually a simple course of antibiotics before treatment of your teeth is required to protect vulnerable patients.
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