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Supporting Your Practice

Treating a Patient with a Heart Valve Replacement – Management Considerations

Because people are living longer and have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, the number of patients with heart valve replacements is greater than at any time in history. So how does this impact dental care, and what are the key considerations for dentists in treating patients who have had heart valve replacements?

Dr. PJ Murphy is an Assistant Professor at UBC Dentistry who specializes in biomedical emergencies. In this edition of CDA Oasis Live with Dr. John O’Keefe, Director of Knowledge Networks CDA, Dr. Murphy walks through the common types of heart valve replacements and the impact they have on dental care. He addresses the need for antibiotic prophylaxis when carrying out invasive dental procedures, and details how to best manage heart valve patients on lifelong blood thinning therapies.

We hope you find the conversation useful. We welcome your thoughts, questions and/or suggestions about this post and other topics. Leave a comment in the box below or send us your feedback by email.

Until next time!
CDA Oasis Team

Full Conversation (11.13")

2 Comments

  1. Alastair Nicoll October 7, 2020

    Surprised to hear the suggestion that a physician would need to order the INR. In BC dentists can, and I suggest should routinely be doing that if appropriate for patient management.

    Reply
  2. Alex Galo October 10, 2020

    What is the max number of carps recommended if we are using non epi LA.?
    I understand if the INR is 3.5 or below we can proceed with treatment but does the warfarin dosage need to adjusted or even discontinued for a few days? In past articles I have read, it has stated the dosage does not need to be adjusted (which is contradicted by many MD’s).

    Reply

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