Alternative to oral dicoumarin anticoagulants:Considerations in dental care

Introduction: For over 50 years, vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin (Aldocumar®) and acenocoumarol (Sintrom ®) have been the gold standard for reducing the risk of cerebrovascular events. In the last 5 years alternative anticoagulants have been evaluated that act directly upon a concrete target within the coagulation cascade, thereby affording a more predictable anticoagulant effect. The present study offers an update on the new oral anticoagulants and reviews the implications referred to the dental care of patients administered these substances. Material and methods: An exhaustive PubMed-Medline and Cochrane Library search was made of the main alternatives to conventional oral anticoag…