endocarditis is a nightmare

[ottagal]

Re: prophylactic rinses to reduce the risk of BE. This all makes sense to me!

As a matter of fact, I had mentioned to the cardio a few years back that a pre-rinse that has Chlorehexidine (I always do a one minute rinse at my dentist's office before any dental procedures) made more sense to me than the pre-meds. It is quite broad spectrum and has a high substantivity rate. (If you interested in reading about chlorhexidine here's the wikepedia link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorhexidine)
FYI...I understand long term use of chlorhexidine can cause staining of teeth and one needs to make sure he/she has no allergies to it.

Is this the mouthwash you were prescribed SkiGirl?

 

[normofthenorth]

I think several of the medi-scientific discussions about antibiotic prophylaxis have mentioned that most people introduce more oral bacteria into their bloodstream during routine oral home care than during dentists' or hygienists' visits. It's one of the logical arguments bandied about, in the almost total absence of solid evidence. (I'm pre-dosing tomorrow before getting a cleaning at my periodontist's, but I'm grousing about it, too!)

 

[ski girl]

Ottagal - nope not chlorhexidine, I just use Listerine!

 

[bdryer]

Norm

Thanks for your clarification and to others who jumped in.

Regarding replacing the good bacteria, yogurt is not going to do it. Go to a health food store and purchase probiotics in capsule form. You can find them in dosages as high as about 50 billion.