What may increase your risk of a problem from a mouth, gum, or tooth problem?
Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.
Conditions
- Heart valve disease
- Heart valve replacement
- Previous dental injuries
- Previous dental or gum surgery
- Radiation therapy to the mouth, face, or neck (now or in the past)
- Surgery to remove the spleen
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal
- Smoking or other tobacco use
Medicines
- Antiseizure medicines, such as phenytoin
- Birth control pills (oral contraceptives)
- Blood-thinning medicines, such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin
- Calcium channel blockers, which are used to control high blood pressure or for people with heart problems
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
- Medicines that contain gold
- Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection
- Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen
Diseases
- Cancer
- Crohn's disease
- Dental disease, such as tooth decay or gum disease
- Diabetes
- Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Hemophilia
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- Infection of the muscles and valves of the heart (endocarditis)
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Malabsorption syndromes
- Scleroderma
- Sickle cell disease
- Sjögren's syndrome
- Vitamin deficiencies, such as too little folate, niacin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, vitamin C, and vitamin K
| Author: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA | Last Updated: December 1, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine Steven K. Patterson, BSc, DDS, MPH - Dentist | |
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