Abstract

The incidence and intensity of bacteremia following tooth extraction in children were measured by blood culture. The effects on bacteremia of the number and type of teeth extracted, oral hygiene, gingival health, presence of abscess, and antibiotic prophylaxis were assessed. Antibiotic prophylaxis reduced the incidence of bacteremia from 63% to 35%. The intensity of bacteremia was 2 cfu/mL of blood or less in 80% of the children. An agar pour-plate method of blood culture was significantly more effective than broth in culturing the small volumes of inoculum. Of 83 bacterial strains characterized, 39 were strict anaerobes or micro-aerophilic, and the remainder mainly streptococci. S. mitior and S. sanguis were most commonly isolated, often in pure culture, and were generally sensitive to antibiotics. No direct association was demonstrated between the plaque and gingival indices and incidence of bacteremia or between the number of teeth extracted and the incidence or intensity of bacteremia. It is concluded that all children at risk from infective endocarditis require antibiotic prophylaxis prior to tooth extraction, since it is impossible for the likelihood or intensity of transient bacteremia to be clinically predicted.