Does Aspirin Need to Be Discontinued Before an Elective Simple Tooth Extraction

<p><strong>Background and Objective: </strong></p> <p>Aspirin, known less commonly by its generic name, Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), increases bleeding time with a consequent risk of post-operative bleeding that places dental clinicians in a state of uncertainty as to whether or not Aspirin intake should be ceased prior to an elective dental extraction. This study was therefore designed to compare frequency of bleeding among patients of elective simple tooth extraction with or without discontinuation of Aspirin</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong></p> <p>A randomized controlled study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad over the period of 1 year. A total of 324 patients were equally divided into two groups; Group A patients were advised to continue taking Aspirin before extraction, whereas, in Group B, the patients were advised to discontinue Aspirin 5 days before tooth extraction. In both groups, a single clinically indicated tooth was extracted under local anesthesia with standard procedure. The socket site was examined 30 minutes post extraction to assess active bleeding using a validated categorization method. The data was analyzed using statistical software.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong></p> <p>It was observed that157(48.5%) patients in Group-A and 161(49.7%) patients in Group-B were found with grade 0 (no bleeding after 30 minutes of extraction) bleeding while 5(1.5%) patients in Group-A and 1(0.3%) patient in Group-B were found with grade I (presence of active bleeding after 30 minutes of extraction bleeding). This finding was not statistically (p=0.099).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong></p> <p>It is recommended to safely carry out simple extraction without discontinuing or altering the dose of Aspirin to avoid the thrombotic risk; provided the local hemostatic measures are in place.</p>