PB1003 - Knowledge of dental surgeons about DOACs in dental practice

Background: Oral anticoagulants, especially direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), have been increasingly used by the population for primary and secondary prophylaxis of atherothrombotic events. Studies on dental management among patients using such medications are scarce, and the level of knowledge on the subject among dental surgeons (DSs) appears to be insufficient.

Aims: Assess the knowledge of DSs about DOACs.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study carried out in 2021, involving 389 DSs from a Brazilian State, with active registration in the Council, using a questionnaire (validated using the Delphi method). Applied to study participants that contained questions related to the use of DOACS, in addition to warfarin and antiplatelet agents. These professionals were categorized according to the areas of activity that perform the greatest number of invasive procedures, that is, implant dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery and traumatology, and periodontics (group 1), and compared with the other specialties (group 2). Binary logistic regression analysis was performed using IBM® SPSS® statistical software (p < 0.05).

Results: Participants presented the following characteristics: 65.3% female; 74.0% with > 10 years of professional experience; 87.9% had already seen a patient using antiplatelet agents or oral anticoagulants; 94.0% reported insufficient knowledge about DOACs and 91.2% knew about antiplatelet agents. Regarding the area of activity, 21.4% of the DSs were from group 1 and 78.6% from group 2. DSs from group 1 were 9.39 times more likely to have more knowledge about DOACs, when compared to DSs from group 2 (OR 9.39; 95% CI: 3.42-25.76).

Conclusion(s): This preliminary finding reinforces the need for greater knowledge about DOACs and other drugs that interfere with hemostasis, given their implications for dental treatment aimed at better clinical management of patients. A combination of efforts involving dental education institutions, students and DSs can fill this knowledge gap.