Time to Reassess Dental Care Delays Following Vascular Events

Time to Reassess Dental Care Delays Following Vascular Events

Patients who have recently experienced a stroke, transient ischemic attack, or acute myocardial infarction are typically advised by both medical and dental professionals to postpone nonemergency dental procedures for up to 6 months in order to reduce the risk of a second cardiovascular event. Results from a study conducted at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, however, suggest that this may not be necessary.

The researchers analyzed records of 50,329 participants in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey—an annual, nationally representative multipurpose survey of the United States Medicare population—to determine whether dental procedures affected the risk of a second vascular event. Records from 1998 to 2007 were included in the analysis. Among the participants, 2,035 experienced an initial vascular event during the survey period, and 445 went on to have a second event during the survey period. The researchers studied the association between dental procedures performed 30, 60, 90, and 180 days following a cardiovascular event and the risks of experiencing a second episode. Overall, they found that dental procedures performed following a first vascular event did not increase the risk of a second event within any of the four time frames. In fact, dental procedures of any kind were not linked to a patient’s risk of experiencing a second vascular episode.

The study was published in the November 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association. According to the authors, the results do not necessarily refute the traditional advisement of postponing elective dental procedures for up to 6 months after a vascular event, but suggest that the recommendation should be reassessed. The authors concluded that further investigation into the different types of dental procedures performed and varying timeframes that may influence a second cardiovascular event is warranted.