The incidence of infective endocarditis among dental patients in Olmsted County, Minn. did not increase after new guidelines called for giving preventive antibiotics before dental procedures only to those at greatest risk of complications, according to independent research published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal. Infective endocarditis is a bacterial infection of the heart lining, heart valve or blood vessel. Although rare, it can occur when bacteria enter the bloodstream through breaks in the gums during invasive dental procedures or oral surgery...

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