Evaluation of dental extractions, suturing and INR on postoperative bleeding of patients maintained on oral anticoagulant therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the consequences of temporary withdrawal of warfarin and/or suturing on bleeding and healing pattern following dental extractions. METHODS: Two hundred and fourteen patients on long-term oral anticoagulation (warfarin) therapy scheduled for dental extraction were randomly divided into four groups: no suturing and discontinued (group 1) or continued warfarin (group 2), and suturing and discontinued (group 3) or continued warfarin (group 4). International normalised ratio (INR) was determined at different time points (baseline, days 1, 3 and 7). RESULTS: Discontinuing warfarin reduced INR level significantly at day 1, which subsequently reached <1.5 in 96 out of 104 patients (group 1 and 3). Statistical comparisons among the different treatment groups did not reveal any significant difference regarding bleeding status or healing pattern. Interestingly, patients who received sutures showed higher but insignificant incidence of bleeding postoperatively compared to their respective controls. CONCLUSION: Dental extractions may be safely performed for patients on anticoagulation therapy provided the INR level is kept <3.0 and effective measures of local haemostasis are administered. The decision to suture should be made on case-by-case basis, as the trauma associated with soft tissue handling might outweigh its advantages in certain situations like simple extractions.

Furcation involvement in posterior teeth.

This article presents two cases in which different treatments were used for mandibular molars with furcation lesions. In the first case, a conventional amputation treatment of the distal root was performed to save the mesial root as a terminal tooth, which was used as a partial denture abutment. The second case describes a relatively new technique in which a root perforation was filled with graft material (synthetic bioglass) and covered with a resorbable membrane to treat an iatrogenic furcation lesion adjacent to the mesial root. Twelve months after surgery, periapical radiographs of both treated cases showed increased bone density. Follow-up in both cases--30 months in the first case and 12 months in the second--showed no pathological recurrence or clinical dysfunction. Root amputation may provide an alternative to extraction in periodontally involved molars. Synthetic bone replacement materials combined with guided tissue regeneration may also help to correct osseous defects incurred by recent furcation perforations with associated bone loss.