Tooth extraction and Benepali

happy1948

Hello I need to have a tooth taken out and are trying to find out if I need to stop my Benepali injection before having it done . Still waiting to hear from the Rheumatology team and its really urgent that I have this tooth removed Has any one got any advice ?

Anna

Hello @happy1948 and welcome to the online community,

Benepali contains the active substance etanercept and is a 'biosimilar medicine'. This means that Benepali is highly similar to a biological medicine and NHS websites advise that you do need to speak to your rheumatology team before undergoing surgery or teeth extraction if you are on this therapy . This is because there might be a higher risk of infection.

Is there any way you can speak to the Rheumatology Secretary ? It’s sometimes quicker to phone them rather than waiting for a response from the team if it’s urgent.

The link below contains more information about etanercept which Benepali contains.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/drugs/etanercept/

Please do let us know how you get on,

Anna ( Moderator)

happy1948

Thankyou for your response Anna . I did ring the secretary but because of the doctors strike my consultant was covering the wards and not available . Thankfully the rheumatology nurse rang back with very good information about what to do when you are having a tooth removed. I have to stop the Benepali and Methotrexate ,have a course of antibiotics after the extraction ,have my bloods checked and get in touch with the rheumatology team before I resume RA drugs. . Finger crossed all goes well .

jamieA

Hi @happy1948

Funnily enough I had a dentist's appointment today to discuss an issue I have with one of my wisdom teeth. My dentist is very thorough and knows my medication. It may come to an extraction of this tooth and she said it would have to be done in the main dental hospital. She said this was because I take both a biologic - in my case a biosimilar of adalimumab with the possibility of infection - as well as the fact I'm on blood thinners.

happy1948

My dentist did not have knowledge of biological drugs so was reluctant to do the extraction before we had checked with the rheumatology team. Hope you get sorted out without a problem