Patient Assessment and Data Management
ODRP 725
Summary of Risks Associated with Dental Treatment!
Note that some risks are not due to the disease itself, but are common risks due to medication or other treatment of
the disease.
Possible Risk with Dental Treatment:
Bleeding problems with invasive
procedures
Negative reaction (including allergy) to
medications used and/or prescribed by the
dentist
Infection which could be passed on to the
health care worker
Heidi Christensen, DDS, MS
Items from the Health History Questionnaire form, which if checked,
may indicate the presence of the risk
 Frequent or severe nosebleeds
 Blood transfusion
 Bruise easily for no apparent reason
 Hemophilia
 Taking aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antiplatelets or
anticoagulants
 Stroke (from medication
 Heart attack (from medication)
 Blood clots or thrombosis (from medication)
 Headaches or chronic back pain (from medication)
 Arthritis (from medication)
 Renal dialysis (from medication - heparin)
 Hepatitis (disruption of clotting factors)
 Jaundice (disruption of clotting factors)
 Cirrhosis of the liver/liver disease (disruption of clotting factors)
 Heavy drinker - alcoholic beverages (liver disease – clotting factors)
 Stroke
 Heart surgery
 Pacemaker
 Irregular heart beat
 Epilepsy/seizure disorder
 Glaucoma
 Kidney disease
 Cirrhosis of the liver/liver disease
 Ulcers
 Medication allergies
 Methamphetamine or cocaine/crack
 Recovering alcoholic or drug addict
 Breastfeeding
 Renal failure or dialysis
 Chronic pain – (NSAIDS, aspirin, acetaminophen)
 Tuberculosis
 Cough up bloody sputum
 Venereal disease/sexually transmitted diseases
 Hepatitis
 Jaundice
 Persistent fever
 Blood transfusion
 HIV or AIDS
1
Possible Risk with Dental Treatment:
Delayed healing and infection
Inability to handle stress from
dental procedures
Infective endocarditis
Items from the Health History Questionnaire form, which if checked,
may indicate the presence of the risk
 Sickle cell disease
 Diabetes
 Cushing’s syndrome
 Renal dialysis
 Suppressed immune system
 Tested positive for HIV or been diagnosed with AIDS
 Taken steroid/prednisone
 Organ transplant
 High blood pressure
 Heart attack
 Stroke or transient ischemic attack
 Pacemaker
 Angina
 Irregular heart beat
 Sickle cell disease
 Asthma
 Taken steroid/prednisone
 Hypothyroid
 Hyperthyroid
 Diabetes
 Epilepsy/seizure disorder
 Diabetes
 Previous history of endocarditis
 Cardiac transplant patients who develop cardiac valvulopathy
 Congenital heart disease
 Artificial heart valve