The Oral Healthcare Unit is based at the Freeman Hospital and provides specialist oral healthcare and advice for child and adult patients with congenital heart disease – this includes patients who require, or have had a heart transplant.
It is important that patients with heart conditions maintain good dental health to reduce the risk of infections which can affect their health and well being. For example, infective endocarditis.
Screening programme
The oral healthcare unit provides a screening programme to assess patients’ dental health and provide appropriate preventive advice. The dental co-ordinator can also assist in finding a regular dentist for those patients who do not already have one.
Some patients may require general anaesthetic (GA) for their dental treatment. Those with complex heart problems may require such treatment to be completed at the Freeman Hospital.
You can get more information about congenital heart disease and heart transplants at the following websites:
