Dental Care

[Yisselda]

Hi, I had an NSTEMI on October 13th and am due to see my hygienist in December. She has requested a letter from my consultant to say that he considers it safe for her to use an ultrasonic scaler to clean my teeth. I’m wondering if anyone on this forum has had an issue with this and how they resolved it. I’m reluctant to bother the consultant unnecessarily.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

I suggest that, irrespective of the experiences of folks on here, if your dentist has requested information from your cardiologist and you don't take steps to provide it, it is likely the dentist wil decline to proceed..

[Yisselda in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Thank you for your reply. I’m sure you are right and I will chase it up with my cardiologist. It just seemed a bit surprising and made me wonder what else must be avoided.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to Yisselda]

If there is any potential bleeding involved you might be asked to temporarily stop any anti platelet or anti coagulants like aspirin or Clopidigrel for a day or two before. You should check with your dentist before your appontment. This usually the case for any medical procedure where there is a possibility of bleeding. I was asked to stop aspirin for an angiogram and a tooth extraction.

[Yisselda in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

That’s helpful. Thank you.

[devonian186]

I had an extraction and a clean yesterday. On the usual medication but the only one she mentioned was aspirin.

I don't know what medication you are on so suggest you look at the leaflets that come with the drug and see if they mention anything.

My initial 2 thoughts are that it is very soon since your procedure so they may have a general rule that any dental work they carry out on heart patients needs official "permission".

The second is the hygienist may just be over cautious but basically if those are the rules you need to follow them.

[Yisselda in reply to devonian186]

Thank you for your reply. I think it is probably the former. I might just have to be patient.

[Desktop54]

Hi Yisselda, After my husbands NSTEMI, his dental practice would not even see him for the first 6 months. They said this is standard practice. All the best.

[Yisselda in reply to Desktop54]

Yes, it would appear that 6 months is standard practice. I will probably just wait then. Thanks.

[Jerrahem in reply to Desktop54]

hi, i have sensitive tooth after the procedure and medication introductions. I guess I’ll have to wait too

[fishonabike]

there are various reasons for special precautions during dental work on people with heart conditions - you dental practice should have full policies and procedures to help their staff avoid causing complications - you could ask the practice

the main issues are:

infection, which can spread from the mouth to the heart

medication which may complicate any procedures (e.g anticoagulants)

[Yisselda in reply to fishonabike]

Many thanks for your reply. I’d thought about medication but not infection. Good point.

[Yisselda]

I’m pleased to report that my consultant responded to my request for clarification and advised that there was no reason for me not to have an appointment with my hygienist. He copied my hygienist into his response and I have had my appointment. Thank you for all of your responses.