Dental work before surgery

Hi @partyon, Whether to have the extraction before your heart surgery or after would be a good question for the heart specialist and your dentist. The surgeon or cardiologist may have protocol in place for that situation.

From my past experience in the dental field, it was generally advisable to have all dental work completed weeks before surgery. It may be suggested that you take a prophylactic dose of antibiotics at the time of the extraction.

Have you checked in with your cardiologist or surgeon?

@partyon, some time has passed since you inquired about a dental procedure before your surgery. Were you able to speak with your cardiologist and dentist? Were you able to have your tooth pulled?

Yes I was able to get it pulled and hopefully got all the required dental approval done for surgery

Thank you for your info

I have a 4.1 cm Ascending Aortic Aneurysm. Unfortunately I need to have a dental bridge replaced and the DDS want to put in what's called a dental implant bridge. I am not going under but he will probably use a local. I really can't push this off as they found a cracked tooth underneath the bridge and my gum was infected. I am going to get clearance from my Cardio doctor before I commit to anything plus my DDS is aware of my condition. So I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this? There isn't much the medical profession can do for a 4.1 cm but these types of situations must come up all the time. I would appreciate any positive input. Thank you!

Hello @deedth64 Before heading into surgery, most clinics prefer to have all dental work done before the procedure. Depending on the protocol of the surgical team they may suggest a prophylactic dosage of antibiotics in conjunction with the dental procedure, especially since you’re having an implant. That’s quite invasive into the bone. Definitely talk to your cardiologist to see what they have to say.

There was a recent discussion in Connect with someone else having similar surgery for an aneurysm so I thought you may want to meet @partyon, who did have their dental treatment before undergoing their procedure.

Dental work before surgery
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dental-work-before-surgery/
If you’re having a dental implant with a bridge, this takes months and many steps to complete. Not sure it’s the best scenario for your heart surgery to wait that long. So you may have the implanted portion of the dental work done first…which takes a few months for the implant to build new bone around before work can be completed. Then after the surgery you’ll be able to have the new prosthetic placed on top of the implant.

Wishing you all the best on both ventures! Will you let me know how it all plays out?

Hello @deedth64, like @loribmt mentioned, I combined your discussion with the existing "Dental work before surgery" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dental-work-before-surgery/ discussion that @partyon started.

While @partyon was having a cracked tooth pulled, the insight gained from working with a cardiologist and dentist simultaneously could prove to be valuable.

I am going to have a clearance done by the Cardio Doctor before I do the dental work.

Definitely agree on clearance needed from cardio. I had a bridge that needed replaced, and we decided to have the old bridge / teeth removed. We allowed that to heal before my heart surgery, but will not start the new implants / bridge until my heart surgeon gives post-op clearance. I did not want anything “in progress” when I had heart surgery.
My surgeon required my dentist to sign a confirmation that I had no dental infection.

I don't have any surgery planned pertaining to my aorta or heart. I was wondering if anyone had dental work done with a mildly dilated aorta? However once I talked to both the Cardio and DDS staff we agreed that I do need clearance, even though I am sure the Cardio Doctor will be OK with the procedure the DDS needs to understand that I do have an issue no matter how small so he knows how to sedate me. If he needs to put me under or just give a local and also to monitor my BP during the procedure.