Dental work needs doing! What to look out for after TKR?

The whole issue arises because the mouth is full of bacteria when you do an invasive procedure ie remove a tooth, if there is decay in that tooth you have the potential for that bacteria to travel around your body and it settles to the weakest spot, ie your joints, 2 of the  3 friends I have that had joints removed, one girl in her 30's had both her hips out and then waited nearly a year before she could get them put back, now the only thing she had was a trip to the dentist. The other lady is a physio and she had her knee removed and both shoulders. Hers wasn't conclusive it was the dentist although she had been for a crown she also had a spider bite. So it wasn't possible to pin point it definitely.

yes heart patients do also as they may have a fake valve or pacemaker same thing it's a foreign body planted inside you.

i don't see the point in taking chances, it would just be my luck to end up with an infection, thankfully after 14 joints so far I have never experienced an infection, I'm not about to change that any time soon.

i just thank my lucky stars my medical team is with me on this one,

Kidney, bladder and urinary track infections are also suspect due to the type of bacteria. I am so aware of all this as I've been fighting this epistaph or staph from the outside/epidermal area for a year and half. Having gone 4 1/2 months without a joint and now recovering from the 3rd knee implant requiring vancomycin by the barrel through a PICC line let me assure you, it's scary and really hard on the body and brain. Any doc that says just to be safe has my attention. Much better than losing the leg or dying as these things are real and not just a scare tactic. Having a joint clean up from a bacterial infection is one of the more time consuming and physically daring things you will ever be put though, not to mention, expensive for the system. The antibiotics and tubing were over $30000 USD and about 5% of that was out of my pocket for some reason but as you all know, when you are sick and limbs and life are at stake, you don't ask too many questions about cost.

Everyone has a right to do what they think best.  You have obviously weighed up the pros and cons and taken a decision . .That's fine.  Most of us take the other decision, and that's fine too!  I don't personally know anyone who has suffered a major infection from a visit to the dentist, although of course I have read in the paper where people have died after having an infected tooth taken out.  I would get it taken out as quickly as possible.  Like an idiot,some years ago  I kept putting it off because I really hate going to the dentist, and when it finally split, and had to come out, there was an infection in the jawbone, and having it taken out was very painful!  Strangely, my dentist always prescribes antibiotics when he takes a tooth out, even before I had a TKR.  So many differing opinions around!