AUTHOR DETAILS

J. Bruce Bavitz, DMD

Dr. Bavitz graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 1984 and completed his Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) Residency in Pittsburgh in 1988. He is currently the Merritt C Pedersen endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgical Specialties at the University Of Nebraska College of Dentistry, and has given multiple CE courses to dentists both nationally and internationally. He is past president of the Nebraska Society of OMFS and the Lincoln District Dental Society, is a Diplomate of the American Board of OMFS and a Fellow in the American College of Dentists. He has a United States patent on a dental implant aligning device, has recently completed a five year term as a member of the Oral Surgery/Pain Control test construction section for the National Dental Board, and performed office inspections for the State of Nebraska for dentist's seeking advanced anesthesia permits. His primary area of research and publishing involves the surgical anatomy of the jaws and alveolar bone reconstruction, and he has been a speaker for the American Dental Association’s CELL seminar series since 2005.
Dental Considerations for Patients with a Prosthetic Joint Replacement
Credits: 1.0
AGD Code(s): 750
Non-Participating Provider Fee: $12.00

About one million knee and hip joint replacements are performed annually in the United States and have been reported to become infected 2.1% and 2.3% of the time. The economic burden of prosthetic joint infection in the United States has been estimated to be annually over $1.5 billion, and the infections are associated with significant morbidity and even mortality. Oral bacteria entering the blood were initially thought to be a possible cause of PJI, leading to the concept of giving the patient prophylactic antibiotics before undergoing invasive, bacteremia-causing dental procedures. This evidence-based QRG reviews the history of recommendations for providing invasive dental procedures for patients with prosthetic joints, presents current literature findings regarding the efficacy of antibiotic pre-medication in preventing prosthetic joint infections, and analyzes the tenets of evidence-based dentistry and its impact on contemporary antibiotic prophylaxis decisions for patients with prosthetic joints. The QRG is a critical reference for the dental clinician assessing a patient with orthopedic implants. It also provides background information for the entire dental office team to answer patients’ questions regarding prophylactic antibiotic therapy.