Abstract

170 patients attending the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria, were screened bacteriologically, to determine the prevalence of bacteraemia following dental extraction procedures. 5 ml of blood was collected from each patient before and after the extraction. Post-operative bacteraemia occurred in 55 (32.4%) of the 170 patients screened.  61 (78.2%) of the 78 isolates obtained in the survey were facultative anaerobes while 17 (21.8%) were obligate anaerobes. Amongst the facultative anaerobes, the most frequently isolated bacterial genus was Staphylococcus (19, 24.4%) followed byStreptococcus spp. (16, 20.5%) and α-haemolytic Streptococcus spp. (10, 12.8%). Bacteriodes spp. (8, 10.3%) was the most frequently isolated anaerobe followed by Peptostreptococcus spp. (5, 6.4%) and clostridium spp. (4, 5.16%). The occurrence of bacteriaemia increased with duration of extraction and number of teeth extracted. It also occurred more frequently when teeth were extracted because of inflammatory dental disease.

Key words: Bacteraemia following dental extraction.