Dental procedures and infective endocarditis: current approaches of cardio-vascular surgery departments from different centres (Part 1).

The relationship between dental procedures and infective endocarditis is well known. Therefore, in order to prevent infective endocarditis, pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended. However, a total agreement has not been achieved regarding which dental procedures and specific heart diseases require prophylaxis. The aim of the present study is to review the latest concepts dealing with heart diseases regarding the choice of appropriate antibiotic regimen, determination of patients at risk of infective endocarditis and dental procedures which require pre-operative prophylaxis. Our review revealed that there is still some disagreement regarding the above concepts. We believe that dentists, especially periodontists, can play a significant role in the prevention of infective endocarditis following dental procedures, by giving more attention to the subject and also by alerting the infectious diseases/microbiology departments and related medical staff.