Dentist treatment cancelled

[Fluffybee]

Dentist refused To do my teeth because of my heart and meds not even a local injection.

I did send the forms in early so they had all the up to date info but still wanted me to go in and told me then 😳

[meadfoot]

So what do they expect to do are they referring you to a dental hospital. I so hope you get your treatment quickly and the issue is resolved for you. Best wishes.

[Fluffybee in reply to meadfoot]

Yes I think he said I’m going to the dental department at the hospital apparently classed as urgent whenever that will be as I’ve been in quite a lot of pain since lockdown at about March time 🙄

[Sunnie2day]

Did your dentist tell you he wants you to do antibiotics before the extraction?

I had to go in person to have a ten minute discussion with the dentist to decide yes/no on prophylactic antibiotics (before an extraction - done before the pandemic) owing to my heart conditions, especially my scarred aortic valve and the presence of pericardial effusion.

The initial ten minute thing is strictly for the discussion about antibiotics, and up here in Scotland at least, is officially required - I had to circle my choice (yes/no) and sign it. The actual extraction happened about three weeks later. I went in five days before the extraction appointment, picked up a ten day prescription to start three days before extraction and then continue until finished after the extraction.

The worry was removing the tooth would release infection into my bloodstream that would go straight to the damaged valve and my pericardial sac.

Some dentists give patients a 500mg pill to take the day before, another on the day, and a third, final one the day after.

[Fluffybee in reply to Sunnie2day]

Yes amoxicillin, so hope they’re going to ease things 😀

[080311]

So sorry you didn’t get the treatment you thought you were going to get. Have you any idea what will happen next?

Just read Sunnies post, I have a tissue Aortic valve and whenever I see my dentist so far since my op haven’t had to have any treatment she is insistent that the hygienist gives my teeth a good clean, keeping streptococcus at bay.

Hope you get this sorted, and soon.

Pauline

[ellj]

Oh how infuriating for you.

I did find myself thinking about you and hoping that it wouldn't be a problem today ☹️

Gggrrrrr stomping around in my wellies now 😠

Love Ellie flump xx

[Magicfairy]

I had to do the same as Sunnie2day for a filling, how frustrating for you ❤️

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hi Fluffybee

I had a tooth removed after I developed an abscess a few years ago.

The abscess was so painful.....

I grind my teeth at night because of my vasospasms. The dentist tried to save my tooth but it wasn't possible.

I am on clopidegrel and loads of other heart drugs.

I had a local containing no adrenaline as adrenaline can cause vasospasms.

I was seen at the end of the day and I was kept in the dentist's chair for 30 minutes afterwards. My husband took me home.

Antibiotics are only recommended if you have a previous history of pericarditis or valve surgery.

sdcep.org.uk/published-guid...

I am supposed to go for regular dental hygiene sessions but the Covid precautions has prevented this.

Fluffybee I am not impressed on your behalf by your dentist.

[francesw47]

How irritating for you. I hope you get treatment you need soon. Tooth pain really horrible.

I have had dental check recently (impressive infection control measures to keep him/his staff/me safe) but always always have antibiotic cover before I see hygienist. I have tissue aortic valve, plus other problems. Had a bit of a tussle with dentist over this to begin with, but cardiologist helpfully wrote a letter requesting antibiotic cover to prevent endocarditis (caused by bacteria entering bloodstream from bleeding} as NICE guidelines suggest that this not necessary. Dentist helpful and suggested that I see hygienist every six months so that oral health maximised. Cardiologist feels quite strongly about the issue and I am happy to comply as my late father had endocarditis and it totally destroyed his aortic valve. So they now send me Amocycillin to take an hour before I see hygienist.

I understand that the guidelines have been updated recently and its all rather vague!

I really hope you get things sorted soon, nagging tooth pain something you can do without,

Frances

[Nadeje in reply to francesw47]

Hi, I am going through similar! Had AVR 15weeks ago. I'm taking Apixaban, anticoagulant. Had a problematic tooth ( second left top) since January. Dentist did drill and put filling in. That chipped off, tooth started hurting , alas! it was middle of March , and we went into lockdown!

My AVR op due in April was cancelled. Phoned dentist, was told to buy a dental cement and try to clean and patch up the hole in tooth temporarily myself. Tooth was hurting on and off! Didn't have to use that luckily as tooth settled and behaved.😊

In July I finally had the heart op ! Before that had to have X ray to ensure if there is no infection. All clear.

Since the op I'm on Apixaban. Tooth just starting to hurt again! Been to dentist's, a week ago ,had X -ray, have infection! My gum was swollen and painful! Just finished antibiotics ...tooth needs to come out , it's beyond fixing, but dentist worried tooth might snap during extraction, as it's quite brittle. Also she asked me to get a letter from GP to advise if the extraction would be ok or not , as there is a danger of excessive bleeding! GP gave me a letter saying basically it's up to the dentist to assess the situation and it depends how her surgery is equipped in a case of emergency. I'm going back to dentist's on Monday and tooth still tender, even after 5day course of amoxicillin, and I worry how long am I going to suffer with pain and another possible infection which could damage my heart. Can't keep taking antibiotics repeatedly! 🤔😫

I have a phone consultation with the heart surgeon who did my op and prescribed Apixaban in January! I worry re: infection and damage to my aortic valve.

A bit of a messy situation! 😫🤪

P.s. Just realised I have written this in a wrong place, in the reply to francesw47 instead Fluffybee. Oh well! Sorry Frances! However, it seems that you are also having dental problems , I did read your message, shocked to read about your Dad's experience! Do you think I should contact the surgeon and ask if I can stop taking Apixaban ? Wasn't told how long for I will be prescribed this ! Hope your dental issue has been dealt with and you are ok!😊 Monica

[Handel in reply to Nadeje]

😫😫 Good grief!! You poor soul xxx

[080311 in reply to Nadeje]

That is awful, hope you can get it sorted out on Monday.

[Fluffybee in reply to Nadeje]

Sounds pretty much like my experience.

It’s all such a mess isn’t it.

Can you have anything done at the hospital or ask your dentist if they can refer you to get it done to stop any risk of the infection getting worse.

I hope you get it sorted out soon, let me know how you get on 😃

[Caro57]

Perhaps the dentist was balancing the risk - Depending on the dental treatment the dentist may have felt the risk of systemic / cardiac infection from the dental procedure outweighed the benefit, tough choice for you!

[NotAllWhoWonder]

Not uncommon, especially if your INR isn't within the normal range. Mine took the time to explain it to me that my extraction wound may not form a proper clot if at all, that I may bleed too much and that he might not be able to stop it, and that I could go into shock, etc. So, I decided to wait until I had my INR checked.

[Hidden]

Getting treatment for anything at the moment is a nightmare...a good friend of mine has been suffering since the lockdown with toothache and eye problems and couldn't get an appointment until recently...turned out to be an abscess which is now between his eye and brain and has caused cornea damage...he's apparently at level four, level five being "immediately life threatening, call an ambulance" bit he's still got to wait another 3 weeks to get it sorted!!

Covid-19 has got a lot to answer for, makes you angry for all sorts of reasons!

Hope you get sorted soon...

[Fluffybee in reply to Hidden]

Oh my goodness that’s awful I hope he’s going to be ok, let us know how he gets in, that’s really terrible.

Mine is an abscess without being gory I KNOW it’s an abscess 🤢!!!!

This week gets better and better, just had a phone call, my Fads in a care home with vascular dementia, gone downhill a lot lately, got to get there mid morning for end of life 😢

Chest pain already, if it doesn’t rain it pours doesn’t it.

At least it’s sunny here, back home again to see my beautiful foggy who is so cuddly and won’t leave my side 🤗🤗🤗

[Fluffybee in reply to Fluffybee]

Also cot a phone call a dental just happened to see something flapping in the wind on her way home, turned out to be my prescription for antibiotics, thank goodness she found it, luckily they’re posting it to me so I should get it by tomorrow 🙄

[Hidden in reply to Fluffybee]

Oh no...I'm so sorry. A lot to deal with....stay strong...

[Tvpuzzle]

So sorry you are having a terrible time. I posted earlier in the week that hubby in pain with tooth and I was worried about extraction and bleeding issues as on a load of heart pills. Well it turned out OK. He had tooth out on Thurs no problem but tooth was loose so probably helped . hope you get the help you need take care

[MountainGoat52]

Sorry to hear you are incurring further delays in your treatment. Hopefully the appointment at the hospital won't be long in coming.

Thankfully I have had no issues with dental treatment since my HA in 2017. Six months after the event I started on a course of dental work which included the extraction of two wisdom teeth. At the time I was taking Prasugrel and the only restriction my dentist imposed was that he would only extract one tooth at a time. There was no precautionary treatment with antibiotics, indeed the subject was not raised. However, my dentist does know that I am allergic to the antibiotics that I have been prescribed, though I reckon I could have coped with a single dose of Amoxicillin. Both teeth came out with very little bleeding.

I have since had a triple bypass (elective surgery, 2018) and the situation in respect of my dental treatment has remained the same. There is a check on my medication at each visit and a clean carried out by the hygienist. I suppose the fact that there is minimal damage to my heart and I don't have any other cardiac issues means that my dentist can treat me more or less as though I have no issues.

[Qualipop in reply to MountainGoat52]

If you are allergic to penicillin don't take even one dose

[MountainGoat52 in reply to Qualipop]

I get the head to toe red itchy rash and feel wiped out with Amoxicillin. I guess one dose wouldn't be an issue, but my dentist and GP now avoid prescribing it. The same cannot be said for Clarithromycin which does create serious problems with just one dose!!!

[Qualipop in reply to MountainGoat52]

The trouble with allergies is that a small reaction one time can result in a serious reaction the next time. I get that rash from one PPI so have been told never to take any of them. Mind you my son has spent 30 years believing as we did that he was allergic to penicillin after being given it as a baby and, within half an hour, looking as if he had measles. It turned out to be the yellow colour or the banana flavouring in the medicine. With me it's usually a preservative or a colouring rather than the active ingredient but we've never been able to pin down exactly what.

[MountainGoat52 in reply to Qualipop]

Yes, my dentist said that there is a school of thought that the capsule around the Amoxicillin causes the rash rather than the drug itself. Bizarre!

[Qualipop in reply to MountainGoat52]

Yep, preservatives, colourings even the gelatine capsules can all do it. If I get any tablets with bright yellow colourings I come up in a rash. I take oxycodone but it has to be branded Oxynorm. When in hospital they ran out of my own bottle I took in and ignored my prescription that specifically named it and gave me the generic . I was awfully ill just on one dose. It's a minefield.

[MountainGoat52 in reply to Qualipop]

Oh, and I cannot take PPIs. The same goes for Thiazide and Loop Diuretics which make me very unwell.

[Alison_L]

Hi Fluffy. My gums are gradually disintegrating, so pre-covid my dentist was doing a deep clean every 3 months. When I managed to see her last month, I had to fill in a huge form online, and then all she could do was take an x-ray and tell me another tooth needs to come out sometime (I already have one very loose tooth), so this rather upset me! If I ever need a MV replacement, I dread to think how many will need to be extracted first.

After filling in the same huge form this week(!), I'm seeing the hygienist in an hour for a clean... no machinery allowed, so will be long and painful

[Fluffybee in reply to Alison_L]

It’s horrible isn’t it, so sorry you’re going through all of that, it’s worrying you don’t want it to get worse. Good luck with your appointment, let us know how you get on 🦷

[Alison_L in reply to Fluffybee]

Hygienist and her pointy instruments were relatively painless, but of course she did identify a 3rd tooth that is "mobile", ie slightly loose.

[Qualipop in reply to Alison_L]

I have a dry mouth, no saliva so my teeth are prone to rotting. Can't get an appointment at all because I had two fillings fall out- only if I'm screaming.

[Alison_L in reply to Qualipop]

Ugh, it's awful at the moment, isn't it? And there seems to be such a wide range of services that individual dental surgeries are offering, which doesn't help!

[Maisie2014]

Oh dear. My sister was waiting for urgent extractions for ages. When she finally got an appointment at the hospital she couldn’t get anyone to stay with her because of COVID restrictions. Then when she got another appointment two weeks later her BP was so high they sent her home. She’s still awaiting a GP appointment!!! Goodness knows when she’ll have it done.

[Fluffybee]

Typical that those things cannot be helped so it doesn’t get done, I hope she gets her appointment soon, wish her good luck 🤞🏻

[Howdenhall]

In 1964 when I became a dentist, we were trained even then, when taking a patient’s medical history, to ALWAYS ask the patient whether they had ever suffered from a heart condition of any sort, or Rheumatic Fever ( which isn’t common these days, but can leave you with a damaged heart valve.). If the patient had had either, we always gave them a prophylactic - preventative - three day cover of antibiotics (usually Amoxicillin these days) starting the day before the appointment. We did this antibiotic cover for all extractions however big or small, for all scale and polishes, or for any oral surgery that would cause bleeding. In the mouth there is a particular organism Streptococcus Viridans normally present, which if it should get into the bloodstream through the socket, or scratched gums which are bleeding from a scale and polish etc, can lodged on the damaged heart valve or damaged heart tissue and cause Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis - a very serious illness causing further heart damage, and occasionally death. So if your dentist doesn’t treat your heart condition seriously, please insist on an antibiotic cover - such a simple thing to do. Good luck and hope all goes well for you!

[Qualipop in reply to Howdenhall]

I asked last time I needed treatment but they refused and said it wasn't necessary. I had to insist. Odd as the head dentist is head of all dental services in the area

[Howdenhall]

I’m so glad you did insist. I don’t know why these days some dentists don’t think it is important

Your life really is too important to take any chances. I wonder if a Heart Consultant would agree!

[Smileyian]

What a waste of time.

[MirandaPriestley]

Um, you were supposed to be sent to dental surgery. You understand that you can not leave it like this and you need to look for a surgeon and a good dental assistant. I was once in the same situation and for a long time, I was looking for a good clinic. One day the assistant messed up and I had severe complications after the operation. Be careful. I was looking for a good doctor and assistant, and I even found a training program for them here vocationaltraininghq.com/ho... because it's a nightmare. Don't leave it like this, because it's about health. Toothache is terrible, I know.