Overview:
By the spread of bacteria, both oral health and heart diseases are connected. The germs and bacteria can spread from your mouth to other parts of the body with the help of bloodstream. They can cause inflammation, if they reach the heart, they can attach themselves to any damaged area of your heart. This can cause illness such as endocarditis an infection of the inner lining of the heart. Other heart diseases such as atherosclerosis and stroke can be linked to an inflammation caused by oral bacteria.
Infective endocarditis:
A rare and life-threatening heart infection can be triggered by the bacteria in your mouth. Gum diseases can be spread by bacteria in tooth plaque. They start to become inflamed, swollen and to bleed often and during tooth brushing, flossing or certain dental procedures.
The bacteria can enter the bloodstream and can infect other parts of the body especially when the gum bleeds. Endocarditis infection affects the surfaces of the heart valves and the inner lining of the heart.once they enter the bloodstream and reach the heart, they stick to its surfaces and create growths or pockets of bacteria. These growths can cause the valve not to function properly, and make the heartless active and sometimes leads to heart failure.
High blood pressure:
Drugs that treat high blood pressure cause dry mouth or an altered sense of taste. And some drugs may make you faint when you try to rise from the flat position in the dentist chair to a sitting or standing position quickly. This condition is known as orthostatic hypotension.
Some drugs that treat high blood pressure can cause a possible side effect called gum overgrowth and it also includes calcium channel blockers. As soon as you began drug therapy it can begin after one month. Some people’s gums become so large that they face difficulty to chew. And if it is grown much large then surgery is needed to remove the overgrown part of the gum.
Heart attack:
The symptoms of myocardial infarction or heart attack can be explained like a pain that starts in the chest and then radiates to the lower jaw. If someone had a heart attack the patient should wait for at least six months before having dental treatments. It is important to give the dentist a detailed list of the drugs taken to prevent more complications.
Angina:
Angina is a pain that starts in your chest and sometimes its spread to your lower jaw. It is a pain or discomfort that is caused when your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood supply. This discomfort can also occur in your back, neck, arms, or jaw. It may even feel like indigestion. Some people take drugs calcium channel blocker if they are suffering from angina. These drugs can cause one’s gum overgrow. This will happen after one month as soon as you take the drug.
Congestive heart failure:
Many medicines given by the doctor to treat congestive heart failure may cause xerostomia (dry mouth) or dysgeusia (altered sense of taste). If he or she has no complication or side effects, for them there are no special concerns to undergo dental treatment for congestive heart failure. The fluid builds up in their lungs may affect breathing, therefore, they should not stay lying down in the dental chair for too far. It is also recommended to go slow when they move from a standing position to sitting position, and when getting up in the standing position because dizziness can come easily.
Coronary artery bypass surgery:
Coronary artery bypass surgery or heart bypass surgery is a treatment which consists of grafting another artery or vein taken from another area of the body and bypassing a narrowed or a blocked coronary artery. The side effect of surgery is that the patient might experience severe pain while reclining on the dental chair if they get a dental treatment after the coronary arteries bypass surgery. It is not usually required to take antibiotics before dental treatment unless surgery has been several weeks before seeing the dentist.
Pacemaker:
To regulate the beating of the heart properly a medical device is used which uses electrical impulses. The primary function of a pacemaker is to maintain a constant heart rate, either because the pacemaker’s native heart is not fast enough to pump blood or there is a blockage in the heart’s regulatory system. It is very important to tell your dentist if you have a pacemaker in your heart or not because all the dental electromagnet devices should be avoided. If any kind of dental treatment emergency is conducted then the dentist or the physician will prescribe pre-treatment antibiotics.
Bottom line:
As every organ is connected to each other it is very important to be sure before about the previous procedures and surgeries that you have made. If you are planning for any dental work that requires a very long time or very long sitting you must make sure to share your past medical history with your dentist. This will help your dentist to treat you best one time solution treatment.
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