June 26, 2013

Dental Implant Placement for Patients Taking Anticoagulants


If you are taking anticoagulants, and want or need a dental implant, is it possible?

Physicians usually prefer that their patients who are on anticoagulant therapy (eg.: Warfarin) not interrupt that therapy, since the dose has been carefully calibrated to the individual patient's condition.  For patients taking Warfarin, the risk of thromboembolism is reduced.  A report in the Journal of Oral Implantology suggests that a less invasive, "flapless" procedure is indicated in these cases, because it reduces the amount of bleeding during and after surgery.

We have been using the Nobel Guide procedures for many dental implant placements for several years.  It is a method in which, using a 3-D scan of the patient's mouth, the surgery is performed "virtually" on a computer first, and a rigid guide is fabricated to fit in the patient's mouth and be used at surgery.  With the guide fixed in place, the implants are placed through the guide without having to reflect the tissues.
As always, we discuss the patient's planned surgery and get approval from the patient's cardiologist prior to the procedure.

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

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