title: Dentists' Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Treating Patients Taking Oral Antithrombotic Medications - A Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  India lists high on patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension, stroke and myocardial infarction. Hence, a large proportion of the population is on long term Oral Antithrombotic Medications (OAM). Though several guidelines exist on dental management of these patients, previous surveys have shown variation among the dentists.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists in Chennai, India, towards dental management of patients taking OAM using a questionnaire survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The survey was conducted among 256 dentists in Chennai, India using a printed questionnaire containing 16 questions, at their university location. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the final population of dentists who were included in the survey (n =212), majority of them were aware about drugs such as warfarin and aspirin compared to other newer drugs (dabigatran, rivaroxaban). Most participants took physician's opinion before proceeding with any invasive dental procedure and thromboembolic events were their major concern while treating patients on OAM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The survey revealed dentists are knowledgeable about management of patients on OAM. However, they tend to overestimate the bleeding risk, thus being cautious in their treatment approach. Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest that continuing dental education programs and further training on management of such medically complex patients will be beneficial in order to provide optimum dental care to people taking OAM.
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University , Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India .
authors.forename: Ravindran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chinnaswami
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Student, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University , Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India .
authors.forename: Ritvi K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Bagadia
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Student, Department of Paedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Sri Ramachandra University , Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India .
authors.forename: Anusha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.affiliation: Former Undergraduate Student, Faculty of Dental Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University , Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India .
authors.forename: Eswar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kandaswamy
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University , Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India .
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chandrasekaran
keywords: Anticoagulants; Antithrombotic agents; Questionnaires