Based on a review of new and existing scientific evidence, most dental patients with heart disease do not need antibiotics before dental procedures to prevent infective endocarditis (IE), a rare, but life-threatening heart infection.
According to revised guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) with input from the American Dental Association (ADA), antibiotics are now only recommended for patients at greatest risk of negative outcomes from IE including those with artificial heart valves or certain congenital heart conditions, heart transplant recipients who develop cardiac valve problems, recipients of an artificial patch to repair a congenital heart defect within the past six months and patients with a history of IE.
The AHA's latest guidelines were published in its scientific journal, Circulation, in April. The Guidelines apply to a range of medical and dental procedures. The ADA is publishing those portions of the new guidelines relevant to dentistry on its Web site (www.ada.org/goto/endocarditis) today and in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).