Clinical study on hemorrhagic complications in antiplatelet and anticoagulated patients undergoing dental treatment

TL;DR

This study examines the risk of bleeding in patients on blood-thinning drugs who receive dental treatment.

Contribution

The study provides evidence that antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy can often be continued during simple dental procedures.

Findings

Only 4.9% of patients in the dental clinic were on antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications.

Only one patient experienced non-severe postoperative bleeding despite appropriate clinical protocols.

Abstract

Patients undergoing treatment with antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs are attending dental consultations. Therefore, it has become essential to evaluate the patient before treatment and to conduct a thorough medical history. The goal of this study is to analyze the patients attending a dental clinic over a period of 6 months to determine how many are taking antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications, what dental treatment they seek, what hemostatic measures are taken, and whether they suffer hemorrhagic complications as a result of the treatment. This will help to prevent such complications by applying appropriate protocols, especially in the field of oral surgery.

Over a six-month period, 867 patients attended a dental clinic in Madrid. Of these, 43 were taking antiplatelet agents or anticoagulants. A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to gather data on age, gender, medication, dental treatment received, and hemorrhagic complications.

Only 4.9% of the patients attending the dental clinic were taking antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications. Specifically, 53.48% were taking antiplatelet agents, 34.8% were taking direct oral anticoagulants, and 11.62% were on vitamin K antagonist anticoagulants. After applying the appropriate clinical protocol in each case, only one patient experienced postoperative bleeding, which was not severe.

Based on the results, it may not be necessary to withdraw antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy due to the low incidence and non-severity of complications in simple dental procedures.

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