There is a widespread belief that people with heart disease should not undergo any dental treatment.
We all have thousands of microbes in our mouths. During dental treatment, cleaning the mouth, germs move from the mouth into the blood vessels. If the immune system is good, the germs will be destroyed. If the immune system is low, in people who already have heart disease and infection, the germs can travel to the lining of the heart and grow and cause infection. We call this ‘endometrial infection’.
Heart valve disease, people who have had heart valve surgery, people with congenital heart disease, people who have been treated for it, people who have had heart valve disease before, and people who have had a heart transplant are more likely to get heart valve disease.
Heart patients may need ‘antibiotic’ tablets when undergoing dental treatment. Therefore, before the treatment, it is necessary to consult the doctor without concealing the full details about their heart disorder, treatment methods, and the pills they are taking. Only then can the necessary protective measures be taken. Instead of extracting the teeth, those teeth can be saved by root canal treatment.
It is very important for people with heart related diseases to brush their teeth twice a day, ‘brush’, gargle with warm salt water at night and avoid gum problems.