Tranexamic Acid as a Hemostatic Adjunct in Dentistry

Clinicians often perform dental procedures and dentoalveolar surgery on patients who take prescribed anticoagulant medications. Such medications can present clinical challenges with regard to modifying or temporarily discontinuing a patient's anticoagulant regimen, which may not be medically indicated. In many instances discontinuation or altering of anticoagulation can be avoided through use of local hemostatic factors while patients are therapeutically continued on their prescribed warfarin doses. This article discusses a useful adjunct to dental treatment for the warfarin-anticoagulated patient- tranexamic acid (TA). The purpose of TA in these dental patients is to promote safe surgical site hemostasis for improved intraoperative visibility and postoperative hemostasis.