Dental management of liver transplant patient

The dental management of a liver transplant patient requires an awareness of the problems associated with controlling infection, bleeding and pain. Consultation with the patient's physician is most important. Laboratory tests to determine liver function, complete blood count (CBC)-including white blood cells and platelets-and clotting ability (international normalized ratio [INR]) are a necessity. In the case report presented here, the dentist, in consultation with the patient's physician, outlines a dental management plan that includes the need for antibiotic prophylaxis and delineates the types of antibiotics, analgesics and local anesthetics that may be used.