Studies continue to show a relationship between heart health and oral health. For those who may be facing heart surgery, they are also in need of significant dental care as well. The following small study shows that having teeth pulled after heart surgery may pose less risk to succumbing to other serious health problems. However, the study is by no means conclusive and still leaves many questions unanswered. Read on to learn more. Thanks for visiting Advanced Endodontics of Lakewood, OH.
If you’re a heart patient, you might be wise to wait to have any infected teeth pulled if you’re about to have cardiac surgery, a new study suggests.
In a small, retrospective study, Mayo Clinic researchers found that 8 percent of heart patients who did not wait to have teeth pulled suffered major adverse health outcomes, such as a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure or death.
“Guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association label dental extraction as a minor procedure, with the risk of death or non-fatal heart attack estimated to be less than 1 percent,” study co-author Dr. Mark Smith said in a statement. “Our results, however, documented a higher rate of major adverse outcomes [with the extractions].”
Such extractions are commonly done ahead of some types of heart surgery to lower the chances of infection during the procedure or avoid inflammation of the inner layer of the heart after the operation, the researchers noted.
However, the study didn’t pinpoint what risks might be posed by postponing major dental care until after heart surgery. The study also didn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
Continue reading HERE.
