Scientists identify a rise in life-threatening heart infection

o Findings play important role in understanding impact of oral health on heart - o 35 extra cases of serious heart infection every month in the UK - o Prescription of antibiotic prophylaxis has fallen by 89 per cent Scientists at the University of Sheffield have identified a significant rise in the number of people diagnosed with a serious heart infection alongside a large fall in the prescribing of antibiotic prophylaxis to dental patients. The pioneering study is the largest and most comprehensive to be conducted with regards to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, which recommended dentists should no longer give antibiotics before invasive treatments to people considered at risk of the life threatening heart infection, Infective Endocarditis (IE), which in 40 per cent of cases is caused by bacteria from the mouth. The team of international researchers, led by Professor Martin Thornhill at the University of Sheffield's School of Clinical Dentistry, discovered that since the NICE guidelines were introduced in March 2008, there has been an increase in cases of Infective Endocarditis above the expected trend. By March 2013 this accounted for an extra 35 cases per month. They also identified that the prescribing of antibiotic prophylaxis fell by 89 per cent from 10,900 prescriptions a month, before the 2008 guidelines, to 1,235 a month by March 2008. Martin Thornhill, Professor of Translational Research in Dentistry at the University of Sheffield, said: "Infective Endocarditis is a rare but serious infection of the heart lining.