A man was hospitalized for seven months because of an untreated tooth. He finds himself with 780,000 euros in debt.
- An American man failed to treat his broken tooth, leading to a blood infection and bacterial endocarditis.
- He required open heart surgery and was hospitalized for 7 months.
- You should brush your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes.
Brandon Baker, an American in his twenties, had a broken tooth. Due to lack of insurance, he did not have it repaired…. The tooth created a very serious blood infection, without him immediately making the connection.
A poorly cared for tooth triggers discomfort
He felt ill, and when he saw his doctor, he was diagnosed with flu. But the symptoms got worse, he lost around twenty kilograms in the weeks that followed. “I’ve never felt this way in my entire life“, explains Brandon Baker in an article at New York Post.
One morning, everything changes. The young man felt unwell in the shower and remained unconscious for thirty minutes. The emergency room took him to the hospital where the doctors diagnosed him with meningitisa bronchitis and an pneumonia. They thought it was due to a very bad flu.
Heart operated on due to poorly cared for tooth
In the following days, Brandon Baker was transferred to a public hospital where doctors this time made the correct diagnosis: a serious blood infection which had caused bacterial endocarditis. This is an infection of the endocardium (inner layer of the heart), heart valves or aorta (large vessel that exits the heart), depending on the Montreal Heart Institute.
“Unfortunately, they discovered a massive infection on one of the leaflets of my mitral valve“, explains Brandon Baker. According to the Vaud university hospital center (CHUV), the mitral valve is made up of two leaflets. It opens in order to pass blood from the left atrium into the left ventricle of the heart.
“I spent about 10 days in this hospital and then was sent home to take antibiotics at home for about six weeks“, continues the young American. Two weeks later, he had surgery “to replace one of the sheets of [sa] microvalve that had been destroyed by the infection.”
The reason for these health problems is a broken tooth that Brandon Baker had not repaired because he did not have insurance. Despite his good dental hygiene, he was unable to avoid infection. Today he has a debt of 780,000 euros.
According to health insuranceit is recommended to brush your teeth at least twice a day, with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste, for two minutes. The French Union for Oral Health (UFSBD) explains the method : go up then down, using a rotating motion to brush the gums and teeth with the toothbrush inclined at 45 degrees.
