Dentists' Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Treating Patients Taking Oral Antithrombotic Medications - A Survey

India lists high on patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension, stroke and myocardial infarction. Hence, a large proportion of the population is on long term Oral Antithrombotic Medications (OAM). Though several guidelines exist on dental management of these patients, previous surveys have shown variation among the dentists.

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists in Chennai, India, towards dental management of patients taking OAM using a questionnaire survey.

The survey was conducted among 256 dentists in Chennai, India using a printed questionnaire containing 16 questions, at their university location. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze the data.

Of the final population of dentists who were included in the survey (n =212), majority of them were aware about drugs such as warfarin and aspirin compared to other newer drugs (dabigatran, rivaroxaban). Most participants took physician's opinion before proceeding with any invasive dental procedure and thromboembolic events were their major concern while treating patients on OAM.

The survey revealed dentists are knowledgeable about management of patients on OAM. However, they tend to overestimate the bleeding risk, thus being cautious in their treatment approach. Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest that continuing dental education programs and further training on management of such medically complex patients will be beneficial in order to provide optimum dental care to people taking OAM.