For me, it was anything that involved exposing Blood. I was asked to stop Pradaxa for 48 hrs. when I had tooth extractions. Although my last extraction, I forgot to stop taking it, and my Dentist said, no problem, he has done them with folks still on anticoagulants. I had no problem.

Usually, I ask my Cardio Dr. about the necessity of stopping. My Dentists have never said anything.

That is nonsense.

" nonsurgical dental procedures (professional cleanings, fillings, crowns, etc) have been shown not to present a significant bleeding risk."

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1105603

"Dental Surgery in Anticoagulated Patients"

Next thing will be withholding anticoagulants for haircuts and manicures.

Find a new dentist.

petey

Thanks for the replies! Petey I saw nothing in your link about fillings unless I missed it, only talks about extractions, just getting a filling and new crown hmmmm.............

Called the dentist office and they were closed already at noon, left a message I was not going to stop the Eliquis, my appt is for 8 am Monday, guess I can show up and say no and see what happens. I was not given much time to check with my EP and them get back to me since I only went yesterday morning. geez!

I wouldn't stop for a filling or crown. I just might delay my morning Eliquis, and take it after my dentist visit (if it was in the morning). An extraction is a whole different ball game, They can be extremely bloody, so you must cut back on your anticoagulant for extractions. When I was on Coumadin, the dentist would not do an extraction unless my INR was under 2.0. When I finally had that tooth pulled (with INR under 2.0) I bled considerably for about 8 hours.

daisy: At the end of the below paragraph, they exclude fillings and crowns as even being associated with significant bleed risk where they would consider withholding anticoagulation:

"Continuous oral anticoagulant therapy has been used to decrease the risk of thromboembolism for more than 50 years, prolonging the lives of thousands of patients. Dental treatment on continuously anticoagulated patients has been controversial,1- 4 and physicians must weigh the risks of hemorrhage from the dental procedure against the risks of emboli from withdrawing anticoagulation treatment. Some recommend no change in anticoagulation for dental treatment.5,6 Others recommend withdrawal of oral anticoagulant therapy for several days before the procedure and consideration of therapeutic administration of heparin for certain high-risk patients and high-risk dental procedures.7- 11 The focus of this article is to review only surgical dental procedures (extractions, gingival surgery, and alveolar surgery): nonsurgical dental procedures (professional cleanings, fillings, crowns, etc) have been shown not to present a significant bleeding risk"


petey

Petey's info is right. Print it out and take it with you to your appointment. They need some education.
I do like Pauls suggestion to take your morning dose of eliquis after the appointment.

Great advice!!!. Had a crown put in a few months ago . The dentist was concerned due to the fact that I was on anticoagulants.They called my EP and he said should be no problem

Daisy, I personally wouldnt be willing to stop anticoagulation for 3 days for fillings and a crown. For me and the amount of a-fib Im in and out (AND the fact that I had a TIA while on aspirin and Plavix!) the risk of having a full blown stroke is too big!! For a tooth extraction my dentist wanted my INR under 1.7, for a catheter procedure I had to stop but bridged with heparin.

The answers here are great and Im sure you already have decided what to do I just thought I would put my 2 cents in.

All the best for Monday!
Take care,
atp

How did your procedure go for you Daisy?

I canceled it and they called me back and said it would be okay not to take it. So it changed, go figure!