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Dental Antibiotic Premedication: 10 Common Questions

Many dental procedures cause bleeding in the mouth, which can allow the bacteria in the mouth to enter into the person’s bloodstream.  Certain people are more susceptible to bacterial infections in their bloodstream than others.  In order to prevent bacteria from living in your bloodstream and infecting certain high risk areas of your body, it is important for certain people to take antibiotics before having many dental procedures.  This is known as antibiotic premedication or antibiotic prophylaxis.

Many people have questions regarding antibiotic premedication and dental work.  Here’s a list of ten common questions and their answers.  If you have any other questions about antibiotic premedication that I don’t cover in the following article, feel free to leave a comment down at the bottom.

Dental Antibiotic Premedication: 10 Common Questions

1 – Who needs to be premedicated before having dental work done?

Basically, if you have any of the following, your dentist may consider giving you antibiotics before routine dental work:

  • Artificial joint replacement
  • A previous heart infection (infective endocarditis)
  • A prosthetic heart valve
  • Certain cases of congenital heart disease
  • Heart transplant patients who have developed cardiac vulvopathy
  • Certain immune conditions

For a more in-depth look at who needs to be premedicated before dental work, read the article Why You Might Need to Premedicate with Antibiotics Before Seeing Your Dentist.

2 – If I have artificial screws, pins, or plates in my joints, or if I have had a stent placed in my heart, should I premedicate?

Antibiotic premedication before dental procedures is not required for any of those conditions.  It is only required for the conditions given by the American Heart Association, the American Dental Association and the Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).  The AAOS has stated, “patients with pins, plates and screws, or other [orthopedic] hardware that is not within a synovial joint are not at increased risk for hematogenous seeding by microorganisms.”

3 – My dentist told me to take 4 tablets of amoxicillin before my dental appointment.  That’s 2,000 milligrams of antibiotic!  That seems like too much, did my dentist really mean 200 mg?  Did he make a mistake on the prescripition?

The American Heart Association guidelines recommend 2,000 milligrams of amoxicillin for antibioitic premedication before dental procedures.  A “normal” dosage of an antibiotic such as penicillin or amoxicillin is 500 milligrams a few times per day.  From that perspective, 2,000 milligrams is simply the amount of antibiotic that you might take in one day if you were using it to fight an infection.

4 – My dentist used to give me antibiotics before dental work but she doesn’t give them to me anymore.  Nothing in my health history has changed.  Why?

The guidelines for antibiotic premedication are constantly changing as new scientific evidence is discovered.  It is likely that your dentist is simply following the new guidelines.  For example, the guidelines changed for heart problems in 2008 and now we do not premedicate many patients that required antibiotic premedication prior to the new 2008 guidelines.

5 – According to question #1 above, I need to be premedicated before getting dental work done.  Do I need to be premedicated for all dental procedures?

No, only certain dental procedures require antibiotic premedication.  You can find a list of the procedures that do require antibiotic premedication in the article Why You Might Need to Premedicate with Antibiotics Before Seeing Your Dentist.

As a general rule, if you expect to be bleeding around your gums during the procedure, you probably need to be premedicated for that procedure.

6 – Even if my condition isn’t listed on the new guidelines, can I still premedicate just to be on the safe side?

If your condition is no longer listed as someone who is at risk for a bacterial infection, then you don’t need to be premedicated before having dental work done.  If there were a substantial risk of you getting an infection, your condition would be listed in the guidelines.

7 – I still want antibiotics, but my dentist won’t give them to me.  What should I do?

Your dentist is doing you a favor.  You really don’t need antibiotics, and the risks (allergy, upset stomach, antibiotic resistance) all outweigh the benefits.

8 – My doctor told me that I still need to be premedicated before dental work, but my dentist won’t give me a prescription for antibiotics because he says that they are not needed.  Who’s right, the doctor of the dentist?

You can have your dentist call your doctor to see if there are any reasons for you to be premedicated.  In my experience, many doctors have not implemented the new guidelines and prefer to do things as they have always done.

For more information on this predicament, read the article Antibiotic Premedication: When Your Doctor and Dentist Disagree.

9 – I am already taking antibiotics for an infection, so I don’t need to premedicate since I am already taking antibiotics, right?

Wrong.  If you are taking antibioitics for one infection and you need to be premedicated, you need to take another antibiotic.  The American Dental Association has said the following: “Another concern that dentists have expressed involves patients who require prophylaxis but are already taking antibiotics for another condition. In these cases, the guidelines for infective endocarditis recommend that the dentist select an antibiotic from a different class than the one the patient is already taking. For example, if the patient is taking amoxicillin, the dentist should select clindamycin, azithromycin or clarithromycin for prophylaxis.”

10 – I forgot to take my antibiotics before my dental appointment, but I lied to my dentist and told him I did because I had already taken the time off work and I can’t take any more time off.  Is this alright?

If you don’t take the antibiotics, you are at an increased risk for developing an infection.  For example, the bacteria in your mouth can travel to your heart and cause a heart infection known as infective endocarditis.

However, there is hope!  The guidelines from the American Heart Association say, “If the dosage of antibiotic is inadvertently not administered before the procedure, the dosage may be administered up to two hours after the procedure.”  If it hasn’t been 2 hours, you can still take the antibiotics!

Bonus Question 11 – Do I need to premedicate if I have breast implants?

Pat asked this question a while back in the comments section on one of my earlier articles about antibiotic premedication.

Basically, there is only one reported case of a breast implant infection following dental work.  Even that case isn’t very strong since researchers were unable to confirm that the strain of bacteria that caused the infection actually was from bacteria in her mouth.

The California Dental Association has stated, “The prudent dentist should always weigh the risk of prophylactic antibiotic therapy against the potential benefit in a particular group of patients. For the hundreds of thousands of women with breast implants, the decision not to prescribe prophylaxis is clearly justified. If the patient’s plastic surgeon is adamant about the necessity of antibiotic prophylaxis, then that physician should write the prescription.”

Obviously, the risk of getting an infection in a breast implant from a dental procedure is extremely low, and thus it is not necessary to take antibiotics before dental work for a breast implant.

You can read my full response to Pat’s question here.

Questions?

Do you have a question about antibiotic premedication before dental work that I didn’t cover above?  Go ahead and ask it in the comments section below.  Thanks for reading!

References and further information: Lexi Comp Online, ADA Prophylaxis

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88 COMMENTS

  1. I had second state implant surgery yesterday, i took 2000mg amoxicillian one hour prior, my left gum did bleed for a while after surgery, I took 1000mg six hours later, I do have total r knee replacement, Dentist said I did not need any further antibiotic, Is this ok
    Thank you for your response

  2. I am scheduled in few weeks for tooth implant. My dentist prescribed Amoxicilline 500mg 3 times a day for 7 days. It seems that the dose is too big.

    Right now I am on the dose of 500mg once a day for 6 days from broncitys and it working

    Thank you,
    Ella.

    • Hi Ella – Did you inform your dentist that you were already taking amoxicillin? We normally prescribe a different antibiotic for premedication if you’re already taking amoxicillin. I would discuss your concerns with your dentist. I hope the implant goes well!

  3. Hi Tom,

    For some unknown reason, I misread the directions on my Clindamycin bottle and took the 4 pills 4 hours prior to my dental work, rather than 1 hour. Does this mean that I need to take the medication AFTERWARDS just to make sure that I don’t get an infection?

    Thank you

  4. I have a plate in my ankle and went to the dentist a few weeks ago for a teeth cleaning and forgot to premedicate. Do I have to worry about an infection?

  5. I have three dental appointments scheduled, once a week for three weeks. Is that too much Amoxicillin (2000 mg each time)?

    • Hi Clair – That is the recommended amount. If you’re concerned, you could talk to your dentist about possibly condensing it into longer appointments, or perhaps only doing procedures in one appointment that wouldn’t require antibiotic premedication. I hope that helps!

      • Yeh, pretty hard to do…I’m having a crown replaced on one visit, and the other two visits are two hours each : /

        Just wanted a second opinion….seemed like a lot of antibiotics in a short time.

        Thanks!!

  6. We have a lot of patient that forget to take their pre-med at home prior to their dental appointment. We administer it to them in office. Can we charge them for this? If so, is there a dental code to use? Will insurance cover it?

    Thank you!

  7. I had surgery to replace my aortic valve with a tissue one on 4th April this year. I need to go to the dentist for dental cleaning, scaling and 2 fillings. I have some mild gingivitis and mild to moderate peritonitis.
    My cardiologist says I should premeditate with 2gm Amoxycillin. However I’m not happy to take the antibiotic due to the fact that it will upset and destroy all of the good bacteria in my stomach.
    The NICE (2008) guidelines in the UK clearly state that pre med antibiotics are not useful or recommended for all dental procedures no matter what your medical condition. It’s just as easy to get endocarditis through routine dental cleaning and flossing. I think my cardio is just following the American Heart Association guidelines.
    Any advice?

  8. I have an artificial heart valve and forgot to take my antibiotic medication prior to dental cleaning and dental tech didn’t remind me prior to procedure. Realized this approx 14 hours after procedure. What should I do???

  9. My dentist asked me to have 2 gms of antibiotic few hours before dental procedure.. but my cardiologist asked me to have it 4 pieces (500 mg *4) a day before. on my reading thro’ web pages, I inferred that Amoxillin will not last in blood for more than 5 hours. If that is the case, is my cardiologist opinion still valid ? Please advise

  10. I forgot to take my antibiotics before my dental appointment 4 days ago . I just realized it today. It was a emergency filling. Half of a tooth had to be refilled. What do I need to do?

  11. I forgot to take my antibiotics before my dental appointment 4 days ago . I just realized it today. It was a emergency filling. Half of a tooth had to be refilled. What do I need to do?i had a knee replacement 14 months ago.

  12. I had knee replacement 14 months ago. I forgot to take antibiotics 4 days ago. I had a emergency tooth filled then. What do I need todo ?

  13. How many days between dental appointments if I have to pre-med 2000 mg amoxicillian before appointment? Waiting for your response. Please e-mail me. Thanks you Kay 🙂

  14. i went to an energency dental clinic & had a tooth extracted. it was a cavity that had gotten a little infected but not bad enough (according to the dentist) for me to take pre- meds so he just pulled my tooth and didnt give me ANY antibiotics BEFORE or AFTER my procedure! this has me absolutely scared to death because i read so many articles about people dyinv from infections due to bacteria entering their bloodstream from an extraction. its going on around hour 5 or 6 since ive had it done. should i try to get antibiotics immediately from somewhere else? a doctor or the ER? I feel like he just wanted to rush and pull the tooth to get it over with and not care about me as a patient.

    • Hi Casey – Unless you have a specific need for an antibiotic such as a heart valve replacement, then they are usually not necessary. I hope that helps! Have a great evening.

      • I had Mitral Valve Repair done in 2010 and have 4 kinds of arrhythmias. Pennicilin products do not work well do to overuse when younger do to URI’s. My heart Dr priscribed Azithromycin 500mg. I am concerned about taking the antibiotic do to this and I have mercury poisoning so I need to get the metal out of my mouth as soon as possible. What are your thoughts?

  15. Greetings Doc…I will be getting a thorough cleaning in the morning and the same as everyone in this blog the amount draws concern…I’m to premed…with 4 Amoxi’s 1 hour prior to appt. Can I break the dosage ?
    like 2 / 2 hours before then the other 2/ 1 hour before appt.?
    I’m reading the side effects that it might cause Diarrhea and upset stomach
    and sitting at the dentist chair that would cause a problem. Please advise.
    Thank you.

  16. I usually don’t feel any side effects until a few days later if that helps at all. And I do get those side effects : /

  17. I am allergic to penicillin and I have stage 4 cancer and need to have my teeth cleaned and cared for. Is there any kind of anti biotic I can take for prophylactic benefit?

  18. Just had aortic valve replacement with a tissue valve. I will now need antibiotics prior to dental work. How long does it take for a pills to expire. I will be getting more than one visit’s dosage.

  19. I have a question; I’m TOF and due to other complications I received three open heart surgeries including the total correction. Can I get dental braces? Or is the risk of endocarditis too much? Is there any specific correlation between endocarditis and dental braces?

  20. should a person wait a certain amount of time after surgery or heart attack before getting thier teeth cleaned? Does the ADA or AHA have a recommendation on t his?
    thanks!

  21. Thank you for the article and all of the discussion comments as they really helped! I recently just had an emergency root canal at my dentist and was given amoxicillin. I will have to remember this for the future as it seems that I am always in the dentists office and needing more medication no matter the reason!

  22. Several years ago shortly after I had two teeth extracted I suddenly developed a very severe case of Bacterial Pneumonia. I was a perfectly healthy 45 year old male with no history of any chronic medical conditions. I went to bed feeling perfectly fine and a few hours later woke up with difficulty breathing. Called the ambulance and was taken to the local hospital before being transferred to a major hospital in New York City. My condition became critical and was advised that I would have to undergo a “minor” surgical procedure. My lung was removed from my chest cavity (taken from between my ribs) and scar tissue was peeled off the lung before it was replaced back into my chest cavity. The surgical scar that resulted spans my entire back. I was advised that my infection was a result of my recent dental work and could have prevented by pre medicating with four 500 mg (2000mg) of Amoxicillin an hour prior to the dental work. Now I pre medicate even when I undergo a routine cleaning. Anything that may cause oral bleeding. Rather be safe then sorry!!!

    • I’m really scared BC they have me I had five teeth removed from my mouth and while they were workinbin me I heard the dentist say we should have given her antibiotics prior to her surgery.

  23. What if a client forgets to take their PAC and remembers more than 2 hours later? If you are only allowed to take the PAC up to 2 hours after the procedure what do you do in this situation?
    Also, what if a client only takes half of the dose before the appointment? Do you get them to take the other half of the dose and then wait 30 minutes before performing procedures?

  24. I recently had surgery removing 5 teeth and the dentist office stated he had forgot to gobe me antitoxics prior to survey. What should I do? I heard them talking about it during my surgery. I am in pain and my body feels really weird.

  25. Had echo I’m Jan cardiologist sd I don’t need to pre med before dentist
    I have mitrovalve prolapse and echo report says trace tricuspid regurgitstion and trace mitral regurgitstion so are u sure I don’t have to pre med I have dental cleanin today cardiologist dr says no

  26. I am having a tooth extracted, but was told to eat and drink nothing for 4 hours prior to the procedure.
    I normally take antibiotics 1 hour prior to dental work. Can I take the antibiotics 4 hours prior?

    Thanks!!!
    J Grace

  27. I take 4 pills , 150 mg each ,of clindamycin ,I hour before dentist’s appt. I usually go to the dentist 3 or four times a year or less….so far. Taking this much of clindamycin concerns me about hearing loss.., which I have had. Does clindamycin cause hearing loss ? Thank you very much.

  28. Hello. My question is. Can 2000 mg of amoxicillin and two doses of nova cane lead to severe vomiting. And even light headed and pass out

  29. I’m having teeth extracted and my dentist has put me on amoxicillin. Is it okay to take this antibiotic if I have Von Willebrands Disease Type 2?

  30. Had tooth pulled out because of bad cavity. I was premedicated with penicillin 500 mg 4x/day 1 day before the procedure because dentist said most likely there’s some infection. I was told to continue it for total of 10 days. Can it be decreased to 3x/day for 7days?

  31. I’m getting a tooth pulled and four cavities filled. Infection in tooth, how many days
    Should I take antibiotics before getting tooth pulled?

  32. I recently has a hip replacement 3 months ago. I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. When do I start my antibiotics?

  33. I am starting dental procedure for dentures they are taking my bottom teeth out first and I’m taking Amoxicillin 7 days after that two weeks after that I’m getting my other half of my teeth removed my question is do you think I need to take amoxicillin again the second time I have the other part of my teeth removed

  34. I have been dealing with an infected wisdom tooth since late August 2016 and have been on and off antibiotics every few weeks. My surgery for removing the wisdom tooth is the first week first week of December ? That’s six’s weeks from now . So my question is , is it ok for me to be taking antibiotics this often and what if it gets infected again between now and then what should I do??? The infection gets so bad I can hardly open my mouth

  35. I took my premed before my periodontal surgery but my teeth are still bleeding a little 4 hours after surgery. Can I take more amoxicillin to be sure I’m covered! I am a heart patient. Thanks.

  36. Why do Some Drs in the US say hip replacement patients need to take antibiotic yet others say no; and to further complicate things, in the U.K. and most of Europe they don’t premedicate. So who is right? If I lived in the U.K. I wouldn’t have to, but I’m in the US and one Dr said I must for life, yet another said after 2 years it’s not necessary. Most dentists say to follow Drs instructions. Antibiotics upset my stomach so much that for the last 5 years I skip it and tell my dentist I took the antibiotics or they won’t see me.

    • Hi Susan, We tell most patients with joint replacements not to premedicate. The guidelines changed a couple of years ago but most dentists and doctors still cling to the old guidelines – it may be related to risk management. A dentist is more likely to get sued if their patient gets a joint infection after a cleaning than they would be to get sued because an antibiotic upset someone’s stomach.

  37. warning all people with innocent heart murmurs. Never undergo dental work without antibiotic cover.My sister had root canal treatment withouut antibiotic cover for a heart murmur. A YEAR OR MORE AFTER DENTAL WORK, SHE COLLAPSED AT HOME, HAVING SUFFERED A massive stroke. Stroke was caused from bacterial endocarditis, which is heart valve infection. A clump of bacteria wrapped around her heart valve, broke away and travelled through an artery up into her brain. She spent 3 months in hospital on antibiotics intravenously to clear heart valve infection, then another 4 months in rehab hospital for the stroke and then 9 hour open heart surgery to replace her mitral and aortic valves with mechanica valves, and now at 45, will be on warfarin for the rest of her life. Please be on your guard all people visiting dentists undergoing treatments, especially with heart issues including INNOCENT HEART MURMURS.

  38. I had an abscessed tooth pulled a few years back and ended up with endocarditis even though I had been on antibiotics beforehand to treat infection. I ended up having open heart surgery to remove a vegetation on my mitral valve (at the ripe old age of 16 – fun stuff!). I was told I need to premed before all dental procedures but do you think I need to take them just for a cleaning and X-rays? I’m a breastfeeding mother so I try not to take anything unless absolutely necessary.
    Thanks!

  39. I had my teeth cleaned on Wednesday and just remembered(Thursday) I forgot to take my antibiotic. Is it too late or am I OK.

  40. I have had a pacemaker for 2years and 3months and will be having dental work tomorrow. Cleaning and probably some new fillings. And had a complete shoulder replacement about 14 Years ago and and a major knee operation for a ruptured quadracept tendon 3 years ago.
    Do I need to take antibiotics one hour before the dental work?
    Thank you

  41. Hi! I had abdominal surgery and a non malignant tumor removed 7 days ago and I am home recuperating. My surgery was unexpectedly soon (4 days after meeting the oncologist) and I have dental work (including surgery) scheduled in two weeks. I asked the doctor if I should be concerned or move the appointment to a later date. She could not offer a straight answer aside from ‘it depends on your comfort level’. I was not given antibiotics post-surgically either. I plan on calling and discussing this with my dentist on Monday but I am not sure if any type of dental work would be a good idea right now. My surgical recovery period is expected to be 8-12 weeks (uncomplicated). Can you offer any insight?

  42. I had a hip replacement 9 months ago.and went to the dentist on Thursday. He did impressions for new dentures. I forgot to take my antibiotic and it has been three days sine impressions. Do you think I’ll have any problems.

    • Hi Alice – Normally I don’t give antibiotics to patients if we are only taking impressions. If your orthopedic surgeon wants you to have them, they are normally only recommended for procedures where bleeding is anticipated. I hope that helps!

  43. do we need to prescribe an antibiotic after dental procedure to patient of infective endocarditis who has already taken antibiotic prophylaxis..?

  44. I have no underlying medical conditions that require antibiotics. I had a subepithelial gingival graft on two teeth. I was asked to take antiobiotic one day before surgery which I did. Post op instructions say to continue antibiotic until finished. I am now on day 6 and have 4 days left on amoxicillin. I am concerned about GI upset after such a long course of treatment. It appears to be overkill. This is all prophylactic. I did not have an infection. I would be interested in your opinion.

  45. I have an artificial stapes in my ear a few years ago I had a very bad infection after a cleaning & began to premeditated. Now the dentist refuses to give me antibiotics does this make sense??

  46. Is there a set amount of time a patient should wait between dental appointments if they take a pre-med? For example, if a patient was seen for a cleaning on a Monday and took pre-med, is it ok for them to be seen Wednesday of the same week for crown work? This isn’t too much in 1 week?

  47. I had an infected tooth that had cracked from a root canal. The oral surgeon was going to repair but said he couldn’t because the tooth was cracked. Before surgery I was given 4 amoxicillin, I do not have heart problems and I am healthy and do not take antibiotics easily. I told him I’d rather not take and feel I don’t need. He said that the success of surgery outcomes are better if I take. So I did.

    All night I was so sick in my stomach,, I threw up this morning and the pain is unbearable today. And he still wants me to take 7 more days of penicillin?

    I will never take antibiotics again before a procedure like this, I feel worse after taking the antibiotic than I did with the infected tooth,

  48. My prescription ran out for my amoxicillin…. but I have cipro. My appt is tomorrow. Can I take that instead and if so how much ???
    I have mitral valve with gegurg…..

    • Hi Monica – I’d call the dental office that you visit, we normally don’t prescribe that for a premedication. On a side note, if you don’t have an artificial heart valve, you may not need the premedication. Good luck!

  49. After a patient takes their premedication, how long do he/she need to wait before beginning their dental procedure. My associate ( recent dental school grad) differ. He says, 10-15 minutes is ok. I always thought a patient had to wait an hour before beginning treatment. The assumption is that the patient definitely needs to take a premedication and the procedure is invasive enough to warrant it.

  50. I have my first root canal appointment on the 4th of October and my dentist has prescribed me 15 amoxicillin capsules (500 mg) to take, 3 a day, for the next 5 days. She told me to start taking them all, right when I get the pills, but I was able to get them straight after my check up. Should I start taking the capsules now (which is almost a month away from my first appointment), or wait at least a week before the appointment..?

  51. Hello! I had plates and screws put in my left clavicle and right side of my face 10 years ago this past July. My family practitioner is very old school, but I recently moved and haven’t seen him in a couple years. When I went to the dentist in January (I know, I am behind on my 6 month check up), they had me premedicate just to be on the safe side. After reading many of these articles about premedicating, it doesn’t seem like I really need to be premedicating before dental cleanings still. Is that the case? Or should I reach out to my doctor and request amoxicillin for my next dental appointment this week? Appreciate the help!

  52. Is it only the American heart association that says you can take the premed up to 2 hours after the procedure? Or does the academy Of orthopedic surgeons (AOOS) and the AMS advise that too?

  53. Thank you Tom for this very helpful column. You have already answered most of my questions . One remains: for how many days after dental surgery should amoxicillin be continued? I had a knee replacement recently. I’ve taken it so far 5 days, including the premed on the day of surgery. Thank you!!

  54. Hi I had a nose job about 31/2 weeks ago , do I need antibiotics before a teeth cleaning ? Doctor installed a cadaver bone in my nose

  55. Due to my wisdom teeth growing I’ve experience gum pain so yesterday I went to a dental clinic and after checking my teeth, the dentist prescribed me to take amoxillin as a pain killer for 3 times per day for 3 days. However on the today the pain is already gone. So my question is should I continue drinking the amoxillin or just stop?

  56. I need to have antibiotic pre-treatment medication, I am to be seen in the hygiene school and will be seen in the morning and the afternoon, so do I need to take 2000mg of Amoxicillin twice?

  57. I had a filling done today. I have partial knee replacement so I took my pre-med but my knee is swollen now and aches???

  58. Hi Tom,
    I’m scheduled for a root canal and was prescribed penecillin 500MG 2 tabs right off and then one tab every six hours until gone. While I have been taking the pills, I have not always been able to take them right on time. Sometimes off by more than an hour or two.
    Will this be a problem?
    Thanks

  59. I just had a tooth filled and must take antibiotics before dental work since I had a total knee replacement 5 years ago. I just realized the antibiotics have expired 4 months ago
    Am I in any danger?marie

  60. I recently had both upper and lower teeth extracted over a week apart and was on Amoxicillin. I took Amoxicillin for a week or later after. I went for impressions and was not on Amoxicillin. Do I still need to take it. I am diabetic on pills and I have high blood pressure and have a slight heart murmur which I was born with.

  61. How long prior to dental tx(including cleaning) do you need to take antibiotic? I know the guideline says 30min to 1hr. If patients forget to take it and we give it to them in the office. My doctor only waits 10-15 min. I’m a hygienist and i’ve never seen any doctor only waits 10-15min. Is it safe to work on patients before 30 min? Especially for cleaning when theres a lot of blood involved?

  62. I recently saw a report that said that a women was near death because the microbes in her gut had been destroyed and required a fecal transplant to correct the condition. Her dentist had prescribed Amoxicillin (pre-meds). Has this been studied?

  63. My doctor wants me to take 7- 500 mg of amoxicillin 1 hours before my dental cleaning, I had a total knee replacement 4 months ago. am I going to get sick taking 3500 mg of amoxicillin??

  64. I had my shoulder replaced at Mayo 2 years and 2 months ago. I cannot remember if I need to keep taking antibiotics for dental. I think he said 2 years and I’m done. What say you??

  65. In the past month, I’ve taken 2 prescriptions of amoxicillin (one for 10 days, then next one for 7 days) as ordered by 2 different dentists for infections near tooth 19 and 20.
    I took the first prescription a month ago, then tooth 20 had a root canal which happened about 2 weeks ago.
    Then 2 days later, tooth 19 was extracted and I took the 2nd prescription of amoxicillin for 7 days.
    Now, today, after an x-ray, I still have an infection on tooth 20…and the dentist wants me to do a 3rd prescription of amoxicillin for 7 days.
    Is this ok to do? Or should I be taking a different antibiotic?
    My concern is that I’m taking antibiotics too much, and they aren’t working.
    Are there any other alternatives?

  66. If you are currently on Amox-Clav 250 for bladder infection and need dental work as a tooth broke, do you stop taking your Amox-clav for a day and take the dosage of clindamycin?

  67. i had open heart surgery when i was baby and my Denst in North dakota he wont give me the premed for my denist apptment we call my doctor my doctor is in till wedesday

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