Dental management of the (solid) organ transplant patient

The need to provide dental care for organ transplant candidates and recipients will increase in conjunction with the continued expansion of the use of organ transplantation. For the transplant candidate, dental care usually requires application of practice standards that fall within the scope of management of the severely medically compromised patient. There are, however, few guidelines and no clinical trials or outcomes assessments that address appropriate care for transplant recipients. Furthermore, despite the high rate of infectious complications among patients who have received organ transplants, there is little evidence that dental disease contributes to this risk. This article reviews the current status of dental care practices that have been recommended and presents a rationale that can be applied as the basis for guidelines and recommendations for the treatment of the organ transplant patient.