Clinical issues in the prevention of dental-induced endocarditis and prosthetic joint infection.

No issue in medicine or dentistry is the subject of more misunderstanding than the prevention of infective endocarditis and late prosthetic joint infections. To resolve some of the confusion, national medical groups have published guidelines for the prevention of these infections, including the use of antibiotic prophylaxis for certain dental procedures and certain at-risk patients. While these guidelines are helpful, there still are clinicians who either do not recommend antibiotics when indicated or recommend antibiotics without indication. An understanding of these issues helps to prevent not only the infections but also the adverse antibiotic effects and associated legal problems. The learning objective of this article is to educate clinicians on the prevention of dental-induced endocarditis and prosthetic joint infections.