Scientific studies have shown that pockets of infection in the mouth complicate rehabilitation and healing after any surgery. How to reduce the risk of complications? aif.ru told about this Head of the Dental Department of the CDC NCC No. 2 of the Russian Scientific Center for Surgery named after. acad. B.V. Petrovsky Irina Antonova.
As a rule, when patients undergo major surgery, they are completely focused on the main problem. “I have no time for this right now, it doesn’t hurt, it bleeds a little, and it’s a little uncomfortable to chew,” this is what the dentist hears when a patient turns to him for help. But refusal of sanitation and basic manipulations that reduce the microbial load is not as harmless as it might seem.
Firstly, any operation requires the body to recover. Why force him to spend vital resources also on fighting inflammation?
Healthy oral microflora stimulates the protective functions of lymphoid tissue and immune responses, and ensures the secretory functions of the salivary glands. Provided that the person does not have caries, gingivitis, periodontitis and other pathological conditions.
Caries and periodontal diseases develop due to the activity of microorganisms contained in dental plaque. The content of microorganisms in mixed saliva ranges from 4 million to 5 billion, in dental plaque – from 10 to 1000 billion. On the surface of the teeth, as a result of the attachment of microorganisms to the matrix of organic substances covering the teeth, the formation of dental plaque occurs.
As a result of the maturation of dental plaque and its mineralization, tartar is formed. Dental plaque is tightly fixed on the surface of the teeth and forms a multicomponent biofilm, the bacteria of which have special pathogenic properties.
If there are carious teeth and periodontal pockets in the mouth at any stage of inflammation, the number of microorganisms increases 20 times. As a result, an acute or chronic focus of inflammation is formed, the body will spend precious energy to suppress it.
Second point. The postoperative period is often associated with the use of medications, against the background of which any dental intervention carries risks. For example, after heart surgery, a long course of anticoagulants is prescribed. Discontinuation of these drugs is fraught with negative consequences. If during this period, against the background of weakening of the general immune system, a sluggish process in the oral cavity worsens (for example, advanced periodontitis), the tooth will have to be removed, and in this case there will be a risk of heavy alveolar bleeding. Such patients have to cancel therapy and have the tooth removed in a hospital setting, and in a purulent department.
A separate category of patients who receive special attention from dentists are cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. In such cases, it is necessary to suppress inflammation with antibiotics, because any surgical intervention ends in osteonecrosis. The same applies to dental procedures in patients taking bisphosphonates for osteoporosis. There is even such a concept as “bisphosphonate necrosis”.
This is why doctors insist on therapeutic and surgical sanitation of the oral cavity by a dentist before surgery, a course of radiation therapy, or before taking bisphosphonates.
Source: aif.ru
