About this guidance

The second edition of SDCEP's Management of Dental Patients Taking Anticoagulants or Antiplatelet Drugs guidance and accompanying Quick Reference Guide, were published in 2022 following a full review of the 2015 first edition.

The recommendations from the first edition of the guidance are largely unchanged. The main changes in the second edition are:

• inclusion of new information on the prevalence of anticoagulant use and the availability of reversal agents
• the DOAC key recommendations amended to apply to patients taking edoxaban, with further information and advice provided
• inclusion of a new key recommendation and expanded advice for the management of patients taking low molecular weight heparins
• updates to the evidence and basis for the key recommendations
• updates to the tables, flowcharts and tools

More information on the guidance can be found on the SDCEP website.

The information in this app is drawn from both the Quick Reference Guide and the full guidance.

For a full appreciation of the recommendations and further advice on following them, refer to the full guidance.

Both the full guidance and the Quick Reference Guide are available to download from the SDCEP website.

The guidance is applicable to patients who are taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs and present for outpatient dental treatment.

The guidance is primarily directed at dentists, hygienists and therapists in primary care dental practice and the public dental service, and will also be of relevance to the secondary care dental service, those involved in dental education and undergraduate and postgraduate trainees.