Pacemaker and dental cleaning

I am due for dental cleaning and cavity filled.
I'm wondering about an antibiotic before the work.

6 Comments

No need !

by IAN MC - 2014-11-13 01:11:25

Hi Linda It is definitely not necessary to have antibiotics before dental cleaning or cavity-filling.

It seems that the usage of antibiotics by dentists is declining and is now only recommended for patients with artificial heart valves or those with a history of infective endocarditis.

You probably put yourself at more risk from an infection every time you brush or floss your teeth than you do from going to the dentist.

Lie back and enjoy it !

Cheers

Ian

yes, my son gets

by Anand - 2014-11-14 01:11:38

My son 5 years old, he got open heart surgery and has PM when he was 5 months. Last time he went to dentist he got 10ml amoxicillyn.

Yes

by IAN MC - 2014-11-14 02:11:18

If you have heart damage from a virus you can possibly justify antibiotics but the " otherwise no problems" average PM patient does NOT need antibiotics.

There are enormous concerns at the moment re antibiotics losing their effectiveness because of bacterial resistance; it looks likely that within a few years we may be at risk of dying from simple infections.

The W.H.O. has identified dentists and vets as being some of the biggest abusers of antibiotics. This is not a joke, folks, the future is looking grim . The average dentist knows as much about antibiotics as my 7 year old grandson . If we don't need antibiotics we must stop taking them !

Ian

Agree with Ian

by golden_snitch - 2014-11-14 02:11:58

Anand, your son probably go the antibiotics because of his congenital heart defect. A pacemaker or other heart rhythm device alone has NEVER been an indication for antibiotics prior to dental procedures - not in the current guidelines, and not in old guidelines. Some dentists just don't get that, and want to be on the safe side. They don't care about what the overuse of antibiotics could mean for the patient. But as I said, your son most likely had the indication because of his heart defect.

Inga

Dentist Should Advise

by Shaun - 2014-11-14 05:11:53

Dentist needs to be aware of PM and should advise accordingly. In my case the dentist was unwilling to use the ultrasonic cleaner due to potential interference with the PM.

Becareful of cavitron wires over PM

by joelcr3 - 2014-11-15 08:11:04

The manufacturer (Biotronik) told me on phone( when I asked that question) that I should tell the dentist/hygienist not to drape the wire of the cavitron over the PM site.

You know you're wired when...

You have a 25 year mortgage on your device.

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