DrBicuspid (6/7, Busch) reports a new study suggests that “patients who receive dental care prior to advanced cardiac interventions, including heart transplants, may not be at greater risk of death or adverse events.” After conducting “a retrospective chart review” that “included 305 end-stage heart failure patients evaluated by the hospital dentistry service at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center,” the authors concluded, “Elimination of oral infection prior to advanced cardiac interventions does not increase the risk of morbidity or mortality.” Still, “more research should be conducted to examine whether pre-surgical treatment is warranted, they wrote.” The study was published in Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology.
