Antibiotic-IV vs Oral

[greekkc]

I had a root canal today with no antibiotics. Dentist said I should not need one but if I experience excessive face and eye swelling I need to take one. He knows that I had cdiff earlier this year and recommended, if antibiotic is needed, to go to ER and get it by IV rather than take it orally. He said this would bypass aggravating the gut and a possible relapse as it goes straight into the bloodstream. Has anyone else heard this before?

[roy]

Your dentists talking rubbish!
most types of IV is filtered from the blood by the liver and drained into the colon for elimination.
It's the same as oral as far as c.diff risk is concerned.

[greekkc]

Thanks, Roy. It did not sound right to me either. Maybe he was thinking that an oral drug has to be absorbed, which can depend on presence of other substances (food) and gut function. For someone with a compromised gut flora, stomach acid could maybe inactivate it, it could be metabolized by the liver before entering general circulation so the drug doesn't reach the needed concentration in the blood. IV drugs are injected directly into the blood stream so they start to work essentially immediately. I do know that I am appreciative that he is not one of those dentists who regularly prescribes antibiotics and he was sensitive to my cdiff earlier this year. Hopefully I will not need the antibiotic and this won't be an issue. But is sounds like whether it is taken orally or by IV does not matter when it comes to a possible cdiff relapse. Another question, I know that clindamycin is a big no-no, but is amoxicillin any better? I have read on this site some have taken it or zithromax and not relapsed.

[NanciT]

We have a list off "lower offenders" under CDI. Any antibiotic, oral, topical, IV can cause CDIFF. There are some worse than other's.

You may want to get another opinion or see an endodontist for a root canal

NanciT

[greekkc]

I actually already had the root canal today. No antibiotic was given. I was asking “just in case”.

[AllisS]

A friend just had oral surgery, and I asked my own dentist, whom I happened to be seeing before her procedure, what antibiotic might be relatively safe to use, since clindamycin and amoxicillin are such high offenders for C. diff. He said that azithroymycin is somewhat less risky, should an antibiotic be needed.

[Aurora]

roy wrote:
> Your dentists talking rubbish!
> most types of IV is filtered from the blood by the liver and drained into
> the colon for elimination.
> It's the same as oral as far as c.diff risk is concerned.
Oh, no! This is what I was afraid of. Mine insisted I would be fine on the IV dose in office.