Dental work and AF: Has anyone had... - Atrial Fibrillati...

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Dental work and AF

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Has anyone had experience of AF getting worse after root fillings or being told after AF started that they need a lot of dental work?

Just attended a talk 'Cure Tooth Decay' by Ramiel Nagel who has written a book with the same title. It's back to granny's diet e.g. Cod Liver Oil (not any but the Green Pasture brand) and upgrade your dentist.

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14 Replies
nikita7 profile image
nikita7

I once had an AF while my dentist was doing a dental filling but I think in my case it was because of the dental aenesthetic containing adrenaline. After that my dentist always used an injection that does not contain adrenaline.

in reply tonikita7

Same thing happened to me!

BobD profile image
BobDVolunteer

Second post on dental things today. How odd that we get clusters like that. I do know that deep dental works carries risks for the heart as any infection in the mouth can go straight to the heart. When I was in The Royal Brompton a few years ago there was a young man who nearly died due to an infection in his heart following a bodged wisdom tooth extraction. He was there for some months as I used to pop up to the ward and see him whenever I had an OP appointment. He has never been the same since and I still am in contact six years down the line. Moral is keep you teeth clean and avoid latvian dentists.

Bob

in reply toBobD

Thanks Bob, I will consider myself lucky then as many years ago a South African dentist took my wisdoms out and I had to resort to pills and the bottle to get over that one!

I think it helps to make the right personal decision if you keep reminding yourself almost all health professionals, drug companies and food companies have a first priority to make money!

Loo53 profile image
Loo53

Its called endocarditis and cardiologists always warn their patients against acquiring this condition through bad teeth and mouth hygiene.

Thanks Loo, everyday's a school day!

A trip to the dentist in 2005 was the start of all my symptoms too. It was the adrenalin in the injection that kick started everything. Dentist said it was likely that he hit a vein or something and it went directly into my blood stream. What ever it was it instantly gave me double vision and a pounding heart beat that lasted 10 mins a so. The day after I was admitted to hospital with AF lasting about 5hours. since then it's been downhill . I often think they may have been something wrong with the dose but I could never prove it.

So sorry to hear that Poppyseed. With the benefit of hindsight and research, I am advising my family (all adults now) to seek out the best holistic dentist in their region irrespective of travel and cost.

CTG99 profile image
CTG99

Just the prospect of root canal work triggered an episode in me! (before I started on beta blockers) My dentist now uses non-adrenaline anaesthetic (and more of it than he would of one containing adrenaline) and it's been fine.

One other tip I have been given is to ask them to let you close your mouth as often as you can, due to the nerves that link to the heart running through the neck and jaw area. Particularly with major dental work, the tendency can be to have your mouth open for 20 - 30 minutes at a stretch without realising it.

Good tip thanks CTG99. Another reason for closing the mouth so top and bottom molars touch is to relax you, according to 'Cure Tooth Decay' book by Ramiel Magel as this links to the nervous system and should happen when you go to sleep but many jaws don't close correctly.

MarkS profile image
MarkS

Loo's right, there's an association between gingivitis and heart disease. There's even a link between scale and AF:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/234...

- improvements to oral hygiene through dental scaling reduces AF.

So I would suggest particularly anyone going for an ablation should really work on their oral hygiene for a good 6 months beforehand to give themselves the best chance of a successful outcome.

Mark

Thanks Mark that is good to hear, exactly what I am doing now. I would add upgrade your dentist.

I was with one who I didn't really trust and as a result (partly my own fault) didn't visit often - no proactive hygiene advice just commercially sounding come back soon. The new dentist whilst maybe not perfect gave me the first proper overall assessment, excellent hygienist cleaning advice and I'm into a programme of work, which I am monitoring carefully.

hondajazz profile image
hondajazz

This has got me really worried now with all these replies about teeth and dentists. I have had my top teeth removed many years ago which was to do with gum disease and to be honest I have not had very good experiences with dentists since. I was told to hang on to whatever bottom teeth I have for as long as possible but I am now having trouble with my ear which I think could be down to a bad tooth. My doctor has looked in my mouth and every where else to find the cause of the ear trouble and i am now waiting to go to ear nose and throat consult. I have had two bi passes , I have AF. controlled with digoxin and warfarin . I also have a morbid fear of the dentist and always have had so I don't go willingly or often but I feel that over the years the medication I have taken for various illnesses have helped to destroy my teeth and I have been let down by dentists with no follow ups etc. To complicate the issue even further I am Diabetic and because i am an NHS patient dentists don't seem to want to know you if they can't just get you in and out quickly and charge you the earth. maybe I'm just cynical but if anyone can point me in the right direction to be able to find a good ethical dentist that looks after NHS patients well please let me know. I would hate to die eventually because of a tooth problem that has been on going all these years and to find that all the medication i have been taking for years could have been avoided by better dental care.

Hi Hondajazz, sorry the replies have caused you concern. I didn't place much importance on dental hygiene 12 months ago but I have now upgraded without going totally overboard with every suggestion out there. I think it's just one step at a time with careful evaluation/research as you go.

Apart from using an electric toothbrush, flossing carefully, I have just started using Ora Wellness mouth wash and improving diet.

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