Evaluation of the knowledge level of dentists about antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs

Objective: Clotting; It causes ischemic diseases such as coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral artery disease. Anticoagulant therapy is indispensable in the prevention or recurrence of these diseases. Within the scope of treatment, antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs are used. Despite the fact that anticoagulant treatments have many side effects, especially bleeding, their use has increased day by day. Many of the treatments of dentists consist of treatments with a risk of bleeding. Patients using antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs are at risk of prolonged bleeding in the perioperative period in various dental procedures. On the other hand, the use of these agents is also necessary for the maintenance of the general medical health of the patient. The aim of our study is to measure the knowledge level of dentists about antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs, and also to evaluate the treatment protocols that can be applied in the treatment of patients using these drugs. Materials and Methods: In our study, dentists in Elazig province, a questionnaire consisting of 2 phases was filled in order to determine the knowledge level of 5th grade students, assistants and lecturers, who completed their surgical internship at the Faculty of Dentistry of Fırat University, about antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs. In the first stage, a questionnaire form containing personal information about the institution, age, duration of employment and title of the physician was filled without the name of the physician. In the second stage, a questionnaire form containing questions evaluating the knowledge level of the dentist about antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs was filled. Then, descriptive statistics were made and the results were evaluated as percentages and numbers. Results: 41.4% of the dentists stated that they encountered patients using antiaggregant/anticoagulant very frequently. The rate of physicians who considered themselves to have sufficient knowledge about these drugs was 42.04%, and the rate of physicians who considered themselves adequate about the treatment to be performed in case of bleeding problems was 36.94%. It was observed that the rate of dentists who said that they had sufficient information about which drug should be discontinued and when was 29.3%. To the question of which drug is an antiaggregant or anticoagulant, 56.05% of the physicians gave the correct answer for heparin, 60.06% for aspirin, 70.7% for warfarin and 46.05% for clopidogrel. Conclusion: As a result of our study, it was seen that there is no comprehensive and standardized treatment protocol in our country yet. It has been observed that most of the dentists do not have enough knowledge about antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs, so they turn to different treatment options. Gender, institution, duration of employment and title; It has been observed that there is a significant effect on the level of knowledge about antiaggregant and anticoagulant drugs. Key words: Antiaggregant and anticoagulant, coagulation, dentist, survey