Question:easy
Infective endocarditis after tooth extraction is probably due to?
Infective endocarditis after tooth extraction is probably due to?
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Which mouth commensal seeds damaged valves after dental work?
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Streptococcus viridans
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Streptococcus pyogenes
- Staphylococcus aureus
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: When endocarditis follows a dental extraction, the culprit is usually an organism that normally lives in the mouth and slips into the blood during the procedure.
Step 2: That organism is the viridans group of streptococci, normal inhabitants of the oral cavity and upper airway. Extraction triggers a brief bacteremia, after which the bacteria lodge on abnormal heart valves and build vegetations.
Step 3: In people with prior valve damage, prosthetic valves or congenital defects, viridans streptococci, especially Streptococcus sanguis, are the classic agents of subacute bacterial endocarditis, helped by their ability to stick to surfaces.
Step 4: The alternatives cause other illnesses: pneumococcus drives pneumonia and meningitis, Strep. pyogenes causes sore throat and rheumatic fever, and Staph. aureus produces aggressive acute endocarditis rather than the post-dental picture.
\[\boxed{\text{Streptococcus viridans}}\]
Step 2: That organism is the viridans group of streptococci, normal inhabitants of the oral cavity and upper airway. Extraction triggers a brief bacteremia, after which the bacteria lodge on abnormal heart valves and build vegetations.
Step 3: In people with prior valve damage, prosthetic valves or congenital defects, viridans streptococci, especially Streptococcus sanguis, are the classic agents of subacute bacterial endocarditis, helped by their ability to stick to surfaces.
Step 4: The alternatives cause other illnesses: pneumococcus drives pneumonia and meningitis, Strep. pyogenes causes sore throat and rheumatic fever, and Staph. aureus produces aggressive acute endocarditis rather than the post-dental picture.
\[\boxed{\text{Streptococcus viridans}}\]
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