The incidence of bacteremia in pediatric patients following tooth extraction.

Procedures which produce bacteremias may lead to bacterial endocarditis in the susceptible patient. Recent work has suggested that bacteremia does not occur in children following extraction of teeth as it does in adults. One hundred and seven children were divided into four groups. Group I, which consisted of children who had nondiseased primary teeth extracted, had 35% positive blood cultures. Group II consisted of children who had diseased primary and permanent teeth removed. The incidence of positive blood cultures was 53%. Group III, which consisted of patients who had extractions of nondiseased permanent teeth, had a 61% incidence of positive blood cultures. Group IV served as a negative control. Bacteremias do occur in children following the extraction of normal and diseased primary and permanent teeth. Therefore, the susceptible pediatric patient who is to undergo a dental extraction procedure must be given prophylactic antibiotics.