Tomorrow is my dental appt.

[Creed3]

Hi Everyone!
Tomorrow, or I guess now it is today (12:30 am), is my appt for my first dental cleaning with being on coumadin. I'll tell you, neither my dentist or cardio wanted to give me a straight answer regarding the coumadin. They said stay on it or come off it for a couple days, it was my choice. Well, my choice is to stay on it. I just had my INR done on Friday and it was 2.6 (perfect). I did have a little more greens than usual this weekend, but nothing major, so it may drop slightly. I finally asked a friend of mine, who happens to be my ob/gyn, if he would give me a straight answer. I asked him if it was him or his wife that had gone through what I did with the surgery and was now on coumadin; would you come off coumadin for dental procedures. He was straight with me. He said no. He told me that there is no way you can bleed that much through your gums with a cleaning. Yes, I will bleed more than I used to and it may take longer to stop, but he would definately stay on the coumadin. He also told me that there are other procedures that could be done as well, and I would not have to come off my coumadin. He was even indicating some gyn procedures. He says yes, you need to be careful, but you do not want to needlessly come off of coumadin. There are certain procedures that yes, you have to come off or switch meds, but a dental cleaning is not one of them; even if they are doing a deep cleaning of the gums. Well, my appt is first thing in the morning. I'll be popping those amox about 7 am. I'll let you guys know how much I do bleed from this cleaning.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[Ross]

You'll be fine Gail. To be honest, I don't think you bleed anymore then normal from the cleaning. I was 3.3 when I had mine done and it was a piece of cake as far as the bleeding went.

Let us know when your feeling up to it.

 

[inventory]

dental cleaning

dental cleaning

Hi Gail
I have been following your posts on dental cleaning for a while now because I just had surgery 5 weeks ago and have a dental cleaning on Apr.2. My cardiologist last week told me to stop the coumadin 3 days before the cleaning unless I wanted to bleed to death.
Anyway, I am looking forward to how you make out, and will take it into consideration when I go.
Thanks and good luck.
Al

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Gail

Tyce had a cleaning last week and never even thought about coming off the coumadin. All he did was take his amoxicillin an hour before the procedure and that was that...no problems.

You'll be fine!!!

Evelyn

 

[Ross]

My cardiologist last week told me to stop the coumadin 3 days before the cleaning unless I wanted to bleed to death.

Al you will not bleed to death and could be putting yourself at a serious risk of stroke or clot by doing that. If you've read through Gails thread, you'll see that we've all said to continue your coumadin. I'd love to know when these Doctors are going to get with the program.

 

[Creed3]

Not much bleeding!

Not much bleeding!

Hi Everyone!
Just got back from the dentist. Everything went just fine. I stayed on my coumadin, and I'm glad that I did. It was a piece of cake. Nothing seemed any different from any other cleaning I had. I asked afterwards if there was any extra bleeding and they told me that it wasn't that bad. Yes, I bled some, but it seemed to stop pretty well. I think you are right Ross, you don't bleed much more than before the coumadin, they just are more concerned with how quickly it stops. If you are in your INR range, you should be just fine.
I really hate the idea how some docs scare you to death with these horror stories. My pcp told me that he said he had heard of people bleeding so much that they needed transfusions. Then proceeded to tell me that I would then worry about AIDS if I had a transfusion. What are they trying to do? I was so glad my ob/gyn, of all my docs was completely straight with me and seemed to know more than my other docs. He said that a lot of docs dance around the subject of coming off your coumadin vs. staying on it, because they don't want to be liable if something happens either way. I'm glad I have one doc who will give me straight answers when I ask a question.
Al, regarding the bleeding to death if you don't come off coumadin. All I can tell you is what my experience was like. I'm glad I stayed on it. From what I have found out, yes, there is always a chance of bleeding and it not stopping, but they can treat that if they have to. I think those chances are pretty slim. From what I was told, you can't bleed enough through your gums to need a transfusion or bleed to death, at least not with a regular cleaning. That is just my opinion. Please do your research regarding stopping your coumadin. Talk to your dentist and docs regarding your concerns and don't let them make you feel like you are worrying too much. This is your life. You sure don't want to throw a clot while you are sitting in that dentist chair. But, you need to do what is best for you.

Take Care & Good Luck!
Gail

 

[Ross]

See Gail, I told you you'd be fine.

I'm getting really upset with these Doctors that are still living things from the stone age. They need to keep up on the research with us coumadin people and it's just not happening. I find it hard to believe that they can give us new valves and leases on life, but are almost clueless when it comes to our anticoagulation. Most of them place us in harms way unnecessarily and that makes me

 

[Lorraine]

Hi Gail!

I knew you would be fine, even after all the agonizing and conflicting reports from your doctors and such.

I had a waited 8 months after surgery to go fro my first cleaning because I was afraid I was going to bleed to death! My cardio and doctors though had told me to stay on my Coumadin and take my antibiotics an hour before, which I did. That is why I was amazed when I read post from you and others on the forum who have been told to go off the Coumadin. Like Poss said, these doctors need to get out of the stone ages!

When I had my cleaning, I didn't bleed hardly at all and I believe my INR was 3.2 when I went for my cleaning. I actually never bled much before surgery either, so to me my visit seemd the same as usual, other than taking my antibiotics first.

Al! Don't listen to them about going off your Coumadin. Do take your antobiotics though! All will be fine, I'm sure!

 

[JimL]

Al, stay on the coumadin.

My wife is a dental hygienist, and she has cleaned my teeth repeatedly both before and after surgery. She notes that there is no difference in my bleeding now that I am on coumadin.

 

[inventory]

dental cleaning

dental cleaning

Thank you everyone!
I like all of you just don't get it.
But listening to all of you I know my decision
will be to stay on for a cleaning. I just do not
understand a cardiologist telling you that right
after you came off of that kind of surgery and
are worried about everything anyway.
That is why this site is the best, and you can
get straight answers from everyone who
has gone through these procedures.
Thank you so much again.
Al

 

[ccrawford]

warfarininfo.com

warfarininfo.com

One of the pages on Al Lodwick's web site (address above) talks about the required INR ranges for various types of dental procedures. This is what I use as my bible, and I have provided a copy to my dentist just to be safe. Chris

 

[Granbonny]

Hi Gail

Hi Gail

I knew you would do fine..because I had 2 deep cleanings in Dec. Stayed on coumadin..No bleeding. Tomorrow, I have a regular cleaning. Called the dentist office to confirm my time..12 p.m. Told her I will take my 4 Amox's at 11 a.m...She said it would be a piece of cake after what I went thru in Dec. with peridonist. NEVER bled there. don't expect to tomorrow..cause I brush my teeth hard everyday and never bleed. Picked up my new script today for Amox...40 pills for $14.00.. Cheapest drug going Bonnie

 

[Guest]

A Canadian study published last week was about a questionaire sent to physicians. The results said that they underestimated the benefits of warfarin and overestimated the risk of bleeding.

You should ask your doctor if in his/her training they ever treated a gunshot victim who lived. Then ask if they seriously think that you will bleed that much from your gums.

What can you do about bleeding?
Put pressure on it
Put ice on it
Maybe have it sutured
Cauterize it
Give vitamin K
Give fresh frozen plasma
Give more blood

What can you do about a wrecked valve?

 

[Rich]

Iv'e had my teeth cleaned every six months for almost seven years that I have been on Coumadin.
Never has that been a problem.
Do remember though that your INR will rise for a few days but should return to normal soon after.

 

[Johnny Stephens]

I had a crown replaced and a new one set about 3 months after surgery, with no problems while on warfarin. No unusual bleeding, all I did was the 4x 500 mg of Amox. I have another one up for replacement this spring and expect I'll stay on warfarin.

 

[Granbonny]

Dentist today

Dentist today

My dental appointment was suppose to be at noon..so got up and took my INR..2.6.....Had my 4 Amox's laid out to take at 11 a.m...phone rang..can you come at 11 a.m.. so took my Amox's at 10 a.m....She probed every tooth..cleaned and polished and NO bleeding. I figured my INR would come up a bit..so had Chinese for lunch 1 egg roll with cabbage. Yummy....Bonnie