Administration of Coagulation-Altering Therapy in the Patient Presenting for Oral Health and Maxillofacial Surgery

Oral health care providers are concerned with how to manage patients prescribed coagulation-altering therapy during the perioperative/periprocedural period for dental and oral surgery interventions. Management and recommendation can be based on medication pharmacology and the clinical relevance of coagulation factor levels/deficiencies. Caution should be used with concurrent use of medications that affect other components of the clotting mechanisms; prompt diagnosis and any necessary intervention to optimize outcome is warranted. However, evidence-based data on management of anticoagulation therapy during oral and maxillofacial surgery/interventions is lacking. Therefore, clinical understanding and judgment are needed along with appropriate guidelines matching patient- and intervention-specific recommendations.