Wisdom tooth removal and Endocarditis

[themalteser]

Hello,

Well, I thought to be clever 5 days ago and whiten my teeth with bicarbonate soda!! Instead of putting a tiny amount, I put about 2 teaspoons to form a paste, and I was looking forward to see my "hollywood style white teeth".......well, not exactly the same i imagined! the next day, it was hell all over my wisdom tooth (partially erupted) the pain was severe ,so I went to a visit the dental hospital. The dentist asked me a variety of questions, and recorded everything in my records, including, patient tried to whiten teeth with bicarbonate soda.... Anyways, he said that I got an infection and that the need to remove my top left wisdom tooth. I've explained I got a bicuspid valve, and asked them for antibiotics prior to the procedure. To my surprise, he told me that there is no need as it won't make any effect, however, they will give me antibiotics after the extraction.

I am now , obviously, worried ( story of my life) and herebelow are my worries. May I please ask for your reassurance, pleaseee??

1. How likely it is that I can get endocarditis, my temperature was 37.1 at the dentist prior to extraction, and he said that it's slightly raised, because my body is fighting off the tooth infection. I am now on an antibiotic course for 7 days?

2. After my tooth was extracted, I felt rotten for all afternoon yesterday and most of
today, I couldn't believe I feel like this after such a minor procedure, which of course , triggerred another worry..... How on earth I'm going to cope if I have OHS one day??

That's all, hope You can be kind enough to answer my issues.

Thankyou all

 

[Greg a]

if you keep feeling that way ask your cardio...when in doubt ....

 

[normofthenorth]

1) I don't think anybody's every triggered a tooth or gum infection with 2 teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate = baking soda. Some people take it as an antacid, some use it as toothpaste. It's remarkably benign stuff, really. Coincidence? I think so, though the pressure you put on the tooth may possibly have triggered something.
2) My temp seldom gets as close at 37.1 to "normal". Do you know what your healthy normal temperature is (at various times of day)?
3) Wisdom tooth extraction isn't all that minor, and they certainly don't give you the meds and attention that they'll give you if and when the BIG truck hits you, so I wouldn't worry about the comparison. I actually felt worse (and felt more pain) after ALL THREE of my previous "minor" surgeries (two hernias and an Achilles repair) than I did after my AVR! (As I recall, I suffered a bunch after some wisdom-teeth extractions, too.)
4) My fave recent article (by Tirone David et al, 2010) on the risks to us pig-valvers reported something like a 1.3% per year chance of getting Bacterial Endocarditis (BE) AFTER getting an AVR. I assume the probability is a bit lower before the AVR, though I don't really know that for sure. That's still 98.7% chance of escaping for another year, and a pretty good chance of escaping for ALL your years. . .
5) There are no guarantees anywhere around here, but you sound like a member of "the worried well" to me!

My Dad used to tell a joke that might (or not) help: It's about a guy who was worried about dying young, so he asked his Doctor what to do. The Doc told him to cut out wine, women, song, and a bunch of other things he really loved. "THEN will I live forever, Doc?" "No, but it will SEEM like forever!"

 

[Bina]

Whenever I have been on antibiotics I tend to feel worse than before. They can be hard on the system and tummy.
Drink enough water or tea, and call your doctor if you are still worried or feverish. Best wishes.

 

[jake]

I brush my teeth with baking soda every single day and have a bi-cusped aortic valve AND have undergone an ascending aorta repair. No worries here!

One thing I will tell you is that my GP told me NEVER EVER EVER EVER Use baking soda as an anti-acid! If you get the mixture incorrect you can cause some bad gastro problems due to an alkali stomach.

Go figure!@