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I need dentures because my C PAP machine along with poor dental care has resulted in “ weak “ teeth.
Some are broken , some are rotted black and some are loose and a few were extracted . I’m pretty sure I have some kind of infection too.
My dentist obviously knows how bad my teeth are and is itching to get me in due to the possibility have a dangerous infection which can spread to the rest of my body. Especially my heart since I have a mechanical aortic valve replacement.
All they want me to do is take 10.000 dose of antibiotics. Don’t need a cardiovascular surgeon.
An hour before the extraction. Nothing else needed. I bleed a lot because I’m on Coumadin to manage my blood management due to the mechanical aortic torn aneurysm.
Last time I had dental work I woke up the next morning with a lot of blood so I had to have an ER visit to stop it.
Now she stitches the hole up. Scary. Just local anesthesia by needles. Last time I needed 6 shots of local anesthesia. I want sedation but most dentist also have to have a 4 year extra training and insurance doesn’t cover the anesthesia. Just the extraction and stitches.
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Hi @andytheman. Your dentist is looking out for your health in trying to schedule your extractions and dental work soon because there is strong evidence to support the link between poor oral health and heart disease/stroke. Preventing any type of infection around your valve replacement from dental extractions necessitates the need for a prophylactic dose of antibiotics. It helps prevent infections of the heart valves-a condition called infective endocarditis.
Tossing in a few articles for you to read.
https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/03/19/how-oral-health-may-affect-your-heart-brain-and-risk-of-death
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Why the antibiotics are important.
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/antibiotics-to-prevent-heart-valve-infections-beyond-the-basics
Usually there’s no need to have general anesthesia for extractions. The exceptions frequently being having all 4 wisdom teeth removed in one sitting. So in a case like yours it’s pretty customary to only use local injections of anesthetic. With local anesthetic there’s typically no restriction on driving afterwards and the local keeps the area numb for a couple hours. Having the extraction site sutured can help with the healing process by closing the open socket a little better. It can also help with keeping the bleeding under control. No vigorous swishing of water, no sucking through a straw and no smoking for 48 hours after extractions. You want to protect the blood clots that form in the tooth sockets.
After the extractions, remember to bite firmly on the gauze provided by the dentist. If you’re on Coumadin it may take longer for the bleeding to stop. So you may have to use fresh placements of gauze throughout the day. It’s normal to have blood tinged saliva after extractions for 24 hours. But if you have a more prolonged bleeding let your dentist know. Another good trick to stop bleeding is to boil water, soak a tea bag. Then, let the tea bag cool, gently squeeze out the excess water and bite on the tea bag for 20-30 minutes. The tannins in the black tea help to stem the bleeding.
Good luck with your extractions. What type of replacment teeth is your dentist recommending?