Elimination of dental sources of infection prior to cardiovascular surgery (CVS) is performed to reduce peri-operative infection and complications. This study aims to evaluate if preoperative dental intervention is associated with increased risk of adverse events.

A retrospective medical record review of inpatient consultations (n=1513) completed by the Hospital Dentistry service at UCLA Medical Center from January 2011 to December 2020 was performed. 738 consults met the inclusion criteria and were divided into 4 groups: Group A were dentally unhealthy and received surgical dental intervention (n=265), Group B were dentally unhealthy and underwent non-surgical dental treatment (n=14), Group C were dentally unhealthy and did not receive the recommended dental treatment (n=29), and Group D were dentally healthy requiring no intervention (n=430). They were evaluated for major adverse events in 3 categories: dental complications, medical complications and death.

Dental complications were only experienced in Group A, all of which were bleeding. Only 2 patients were found to have major bleeding, which was more likely due to anticoagulation and CVS rather than dental extractions. There was no significant difference in the number of medical adverse events or number of deaths during the post-operative period between groups.

The results of this study suggest that elimination of oral infection prior to CVS does not increase the risk of morbidity or mortality.