Pulling a Tooth

[Jed]

Hey Guys,
Here i am with yet another question. It seems thats all i do, lol. Well my dentist want to pull a bad tooth of mine and said to get it done i will have to be off coumadin. He just said it in passing and didn't go into the particulars. Is this true just for a pulled tooth and will i have to go back to giving myself those pain in the tummy Lovenox shots again. Not looking forward to any of this but i have to do what is best and i just wanted to know the correct treatment. Thanks for your help as always, Jed

 

[Ross]

Find another dentist. There is no reason to pull you off Coumadin for one tooth.

http://www.warfarinfo.com/dentalprocedures.htm

Jed copy this and take it to this moron:

http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/1/77

Results. Of more than 950 patients receiving continuous anticoagulant therapy (including many whose anticoagulation levels were well above currently recommended therapeutic levels) who underwent more than 2,400 surgical procedures, only 12 (< 1.3 percent) required more than local measures to control hemorrhage. Only three of these patients (< 0.31 percent) had anticoagulation levels within or below currently recommended therapeutic levels. Of 526 patients who experienced 575 interruptions of continuous anticoagulant therapy, five (0.95 percent) suffered serious embolic complications; four of these patients died.

Conclusions. Serious embolic complications, including death, were three times more likely to occur in patients whose anticoagulant therapy was interrupted than were bleeding complications in patients whose anticoagulant therapy was continued (and whose anticoagulation levels were within or below therapeutic levels). Interrupting therapeutic levels of continuous anticoagulation for dental surgery is not based on scientific fact, but seems to be based on its own mythology.

 

[Bina]

I would prefer to stay on the Coumadin also.
Maybe it would help to have an INR in the area of 2.7 as opposed to the higher end of the range?

 

[Karlynn]

To put it bluntly - the dentist would rather you have a stroke than he be put out by possibly a little extra bleeding. The reality is, people who take aspirin daily will probably bleed as much or more than you. My guess is he doesn't even bother to tell people not to take aspirin.

 

[Blanche]

One of our members, anticoagulation specialist, Al Lodwick, has a site that speaks to many concerns about anticoagulation problems. I hope this link on dental work will be of assistance to you.

http://www.warfarinfo.com/dentalprocedures.htm

You might want to check out his site, www.warfarinfo.com. Lots, and lots of useful information there.

Good luck with your dental work.

Blanche

 

[geebee]

I had a molar pulled a few months ago and, although the dentis said it was a bit messy, nothing bad happened. There is material they can use to pack the hole to stop the bleeding.

My INR was 3.1.

 

[evelyn2]

Hi

I had a molar pulled last year by an oral surgeon that required 4 stiches to close the wound. He stated beforehand that my doctor would not want me off coumadin due to my mechanical valve. He stated they have a special packing they put in after pulling a tooth that helps coagulation. I had no problems with excessive bleeding.

Evelyn