PREVENTING POSTTREATMENT BACTEREMIA - COMPARING TOPICAL POVIDONE-IODINE AND CHLORHEXIDINE

It is well known that the occurrence of bacteremia after dental proced ures can place certain patients at risk for bacterial endocarditis. Th e authors compared the efficacy of two antiseptic agents in the preven tion of posttreatment bacteremia in 120 dental patients. Before treatm ent, dentists irrigated the gingival sulcus of each patient with 10 pe rcent povidone-iodine, 0.2 percent chlorhexidine or sterile water. The authors report lower levels of bacteremia among patients treated with the povidone-iodine solution.