Risk factors for bleeding after dental extractions in patients over 60 years of age who are taking antiplatelet drugs

Abstract

The aim of this retrospective, single-centre study was to identify the risk factors for bleeding after dental extractions in patients aged over 60 who were being treated with antiplatelet drugs. A total of 338 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled, and their personal and clinical details, and complications with bleeding after extraction, were retrieved and recorded. There were 182 men and 156 women (mean (SD) age 72 (8) years). A total of 469 teeth were extracted, with a mean (SD) of 1.4 (0.6) teeth/patient. Seventy-seven patients (23%) developed mild, and 55 (16%) severe, bleeding postoperatively. No patient developed a major cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event. We calculated the significance of the association of different variables with the occurrence of postoperative haemorrhage using a multivariate stepwise logistic regression model. The presence of three or more coexisting conditions, a complicated tooth extraction, and the use of two antiplatelet drugs were independent risk factors, while discontinuation of antiplatelet treatment four or more days before the tooth was extracted was a protective factor. This suggests that clinicians should assess the thrombotic risk associated with the interruption of antiplatelet drugs as well as the risk of bleeding for each patient before dental extraction. Strong and effective measures for haemostasis may be preferred over blind discontinuation of antiplatelet drugs. This study is registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR1800014355).