Patients With Heart Conditions Can Benefit From New Delta Dental Coverage
2007 JUL 8 -- Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee (Delta Dental), one of the nation's largest dental benefits providers, announced the availability of expanded group coverage for patients with certain heart conditions to help them avoid infective endocarditis, a deadly heart infection. Delta Dental is the first dental benefits carrier in the United States to offer such coverage. The announcement comes on the heels of new guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) recommending that only patients whose heart disease places them at the highest risk for infective endocarditis receive antibiotics as a preventive measure prior to dental treatment. This is a major change from previous recommendations, which called for premedication for a much larger group of patients with heart conditions. Instead, the AHA concluded that an increased emphasis should be placed on maintaining good oral health, citing that the cumulative exposure to bacteria from routine daily activities during one year may be as high as 5.6 million times greater than the exposure resulting from one tooth extraction. Infective endocarditis occurs when bacteria, often from the mouth, enters the bloodstream and attacks the lining of the heart. An extensive analysis of treatment data conducted by Delta Dental's Research and Data Institute played a key role in helping the AHA develop its new guidelines. Keywords: Cardiology, Coronary Artery Disease, Endocarditis, Heart Disease, Infective Endocarditis, Myocarditis, Delta Dental. This article was prepared by Heart Disease Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Heart Disease Weekly via NewsRx.com.
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