What happens if I have a dental abscess and I also have a heart condition?

A dental abscess with concurrent cardiac disease, particularly prosthetic heart valves, prior valve surgery, unrepaired congenital heart defects, or a prior history of infective endocarditis, is a medical urgency, not just a dental urgency. Dental abscess produces bacteremia sufficient to cause infective endocarditis (bacterial infection of the heart valve) in susceptible individuals. Infective endocarditis has a mortality rate of 15–25% in-hospital, and in-hospital management often requires valve surgery. This is not a condition that resolves with observation.

For men with cardiac conditions in the high-risk category above: contact both your cardiologist and your dentist simultaneously. Do not delay the dental evaluation, but do not proceed with invasive dental procedures without ensuring appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis has been considered. The current ACC/AHA guidelines on infective endocarditis prophylaxis are specific about which cardiac conditions and which dental procedures require antibiotic pretreatment. If you do not know whether your cardiac history puts you in the prophylaxis-indicated category, call your cardiologist before your dental appointment. (Nishimura et al., JACC, 2017)

Cardiologist's calibrated position, Solid (1) for infective endocarditis prophylaxis in high-risk cardiac conditions. This is a clinical guideline recommendation, not a judgment call.

What to do: Know your cardiac history category before any dental procedure. If you have a prosthetic valve, prior endocarditis, or specific congenital heart defects, confirm antibiotic prophylaxis status with your cardiologist in advance of any invasive dental work.

For the full picture, read The Appointment You've Been Skipping Is Protecting Your Heart.