Dentist appt. post kidney transplant?

[st789]

This question may seem to be too simple.  I am a kidney transplant patient.  I will have the dentist clean my teeth and check for my gum.  Besides it what else do I need to know or prepare for it.  Antibiotic medications?  Thanks!

[Rerun]

Yes, transplant patients must be pre-medicated prior to dental work.....including a simple cleaning.  Your mouth is full of germs and you need some antibiotic protection if some germs enter your blood stream.

They should give you a Rx for Amoxicillin 500 mg.  Take 4 capsules one hour prior to dental appointment.

[keefer51]

Yes before my first transplant i was prescribed 2000mgs. of a antibiotic. I had to take 1000 before the dentist and 1000 after the dentist. You never know where a germ will end up!

[st789]

Thanks!

[Krisna]

Well, I know this is kinda late but my doctor as well as my dentist tell me that everyone should take antibiotics prior to dental appts.  I had a cousin who went in for a root canal and wasn't given antibiotics by the dentist!  There was an abscess in the tooth and the root canal popped it.  The infection spread to his heart!  He was 35 yrs old and perfectly healthy!  He had never had so much as a cold!  But for those of us who need premeds, I say get them from your Nephrologist or transplant team so you they're safe for you!

[Jill D.]

You should check with your transplant center...I had my transplant last December, and at the time they told me the same thing...that I need to take an antibiotic before having my teeth cleaned. However, when I checked again this summer when my dental appointment was coming up, I was told that the protocol had changed and I did NOT need to take an antibiotic. For a cleaning, the decision was made that the risk of infection was so small that it was better to not take antibiotics than to build up any kind of resistance to antibiotics. I'm not sure if it is more than a cleaning; again, you should check with your transplant center as this is a new change.

[okarol]

From: The Importance of Dental Care for Transplant Recipients http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/Dental-Care-for-Transplant-Patients/index.cfm

Endocarditis

This is a rare bacterial infection of the heart valve that has been reported after organ transplantation. Despite its rarity, most patients are typically given antibiotic prophylaxis following transplantation if they are to have any dental work done. This has more or less been accepted as a standard of practice despite the lack of controlled randomized studies. If you are having dental work following transplantation, you should communicate with your transplant physician and nurse to have an understanding as to how they would best like to proceed. Do not be surprised if you are not given antibiotics, as more and more centers are concerned about the side effects of the medications versus the extremely low risk of the possibility of developing endocarditis.