Awareness and Management of Bleeding Disorder Amongst Dental Practitioners in Enugu, South East, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Bleeding disorder in dental practice is generally low but could be very devastating when it occurs. This can be averted with timely recognition of the features through proper clinical assessment and initiating early treatment to avoid disastrous consequences. Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness of bleeding disorders among dental practitioners in everyday practice, and their ability to recognize and manage such cases. Methods:We carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study using a 12-stem pre-tested questionnaire. A total of 47 dental practitioners were self-interviewed over a period of 6 months. The responses obtained were converted to relative values for generation of statistics using window SPSS® version 21.Results: Of the 47 respondents, 46 (97.8%) were aware that bleeding disorders exist and majority (95.7%) agreed that some of their patients may have bleeding disorders. Clinical history often requested include family history of bleeding 20(42.6%), significant bleeding after surgery or following extraction 19(40.4%) and drug history 19(40.4%). Most practitioners (34; 72.1%) always carry out gum examinations for bleeding disorder while 28 (60.9%) always examined for gum hypertrophy. More than half of the respondents (n=25, 54.3%) always request for a full blood count test. Fourteen practitioners (29.8%) have never requested for Prothrombin Time. Majority, 37(80.4%) manage patients with mild bleeding disorder but 43(91.1%) would refer severe cases. After dental procedures, most practitioners 44(93.3%) look for delayed bleeding and 39 (92.9%) had encountered unexpected bleeding in their practice. Conclusion:Although most dental practitioners are aware of bleeding disorders, there is a need to identify susceptible cases and be properly guided with sufficient knowledge and skills in managing such. They should therefore be encouraged to thoroughly screen their patients prior to dental procedures in order to avoid unexpected postoperative bleeding challenges.