Cardiac patients with a toothache better off with morning dentist visits
(HealthDay News) – Nothing can hurt more than a bad tooth, but if you also have heart disease, the time of day you visit the dentist can make a difference.
Researchers have found that people with cardiac problems who visit the dentist in the morning causes less stress on the heart.
For people without heart disease, this extra stress really isn't a problem. However, if you've got severe heart disease, you'd better talk to your doctor before having any dental work done, researchers advise.
The study was authored by Dr. Lucio Montebugnoli, a dentist in the department of oral sciences at the University of Bologna and was published in the Journal of the American Dental Association . It found that people with severe heart disease were at an increased risk of heart failure during dental procedures.
The authors recommend that patients with severe heart disease consider scheduling short dental appointments and making them for early in the morning.
"It is well known that both blood pressure level and cardiovascular reaction to any stress are reduced early in the morning," said Montebugnoli. The researchers recruited 80 volunteers who needed to have a tooth pulled. They split them into four groups of 20: normal heart function, mild heart disease, transplant patients and severe heart disease.
They measured the patients' blood pressure and heart rate at rest, just after the local anesthesia was given, and while the tooth was being pulled.
Patients with normal heart function, as well as those with mild heart disease, showed similar increases in their blood pressure and heart rate, which Montebugnoli explains means their bodies adapted well to the emotional stress. Most of the transplant patients also did well, but the authors suggest that transplant patients be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
People with severe heart disease had more circulatory impairment during the dental procedure, according to the authors. And they point out that even slight changes in heart rate or blood pressure can put a patient with severe heart disease at risk.
Montebugnoli recommends that heart disease patients first consult their doctors before having any dental work done, and to let the dentist know about if you have heart disease. Pre-appointment antibiotics may be recommended for some patients, he says. He also suggests patients schedule early morning appointments, ask for short visits, and request relaxation exercises.
Dr. Matthew Messina, a Cleveland dentist active with the American Dental Association, says an early morning appointment could be helpful because patients won't be worrying about it the whole day, though he says there's little to be afraid of in modern dentistry.
"People still have previous perceptions from what happened 20 to 30 years ago," he says.
"One of the most vital things is to be very aware of the fact that the mouth and the body are very connected," Messina says.
On the Web
The American Dental Association has a page on how your oral health affects your heart.
SOURCES:
Lucio Montebugnoli, M.D., D.D.S., department of oral science, University of Bologna, Italy; Matthew Messina, D.D.S., Cleveland, Ohio; April 2002 Journal of the American Dental Association
Author:
Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter
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