2014 RECOMMENDATIONS ON DENTAL PROCEDURES ON PATIENTS WITH PROSTHETIC JOINTSThe American Dental Association (ADA) Council on Scientific Affairs, reviewing recommendations from the ADA and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) report from 2012, began with those recommendations, which were considered fairly ambiguous, and added new research and screening tools. They finished their report in 2014.They used four case-controlled studies. Three were from 2014 and one was from the 2012 study. Three of the studies revealed that there was no increase in infection of prosthetic joints following dental procedures, and one studied showed a decrease in infection of prosthetic joints following dental procedures.There were three general recommendations from the panel: In general, patients with prosthetic joints should not be given antibiotic therapy prior to dental treatment. For patients with a history of problems with their prosthetic joints, they should be given antibiotics only after consultation with the patient and recommendation by their orthopedic surgeon. In cases where the antibiotic therapy is regarded to be necessary, the antibiotic regimen should be recommended by the orthopedic surgeon, and the prescription written by the surgeon.An article on this report in Medscape online can be read by clicking here.This is good news for our patients with prosthetic joints. The risk of dangerous reactions to antibiotics is much greater than the risk of treatment without antibiotics. We will inform patients in this category as treatment comes up. We care about your health.