Endocarditis and Dental Health: What You Should Know

A tooth infection or even inflamed, bleeding gums don’t just stay in the mouth. The tissues around the tooth have a very rich blood supply — so when there’s infection or chronic inflammation, bacteria can “leak” into the bloodstream. In healthy people, the immune system usually clears this quickly. But in certain medical conditions — especially heart valve disease — those bacteria can attach to damaged tissue and lead to a serious infection called endocarditis.

This is one of the reasons untreated dental infections should never be ignored, and why we take bleeding gums seriously. Healthy gums form a protective barrier — bleeding gums do not. When we treat dental infection early and calm gum inflammation, we lower the bacterial load moving through the bloodstream and reduce risk to the rest of the body.

For patients with specific heart conditions, we also follow American Heart Association guidelines and may recommend antibiotics before some dental procedures. If you’re unsure whether that applies to you, we’re always happy to help guide you .