Abstract
Tooth extraction in patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy is controversial issue. Continuation of anticoagulation exposes the patient to serious hemorrhage, wherease cessation of therapy increases the risk of thromboembolism. We have recentry carried out a study on tooth extraction of the patients undergoing oral anticoagulant therapy. The subjects consisted of 51 patients who had been treated with warfarin, and they were classified into 3 groups due to the condition of medication at the tooth extraction, i. e. group 1: 34 patients treated by tooth extraction with continuation of warfarin, group 2: 13 patients treated with cessation of warfarin and group 3: 4 patients treated with reduction of warfarin. We compared the value of thrombo test (T. T) at the tooth extraction, postoperative bleeding and the hemostatic procedure among 3 groups. The average value of T.T of group 1 was 23.3 %, that of group 2 was 49.1 % and that of group 3 was 58.9 %. There was no severe postoperative bleeding in the all patients, and there was no difference in the hemostatic procedure among 3 groups.
Our results show that in the cases of simple tooth extraction of the patients undergoing anticoagulant therapy cessation or reduction of warfarin must be unnecessary.
