Background: Only a few dental procedures have been reported to cause life-threatening bleeding. All of these cases followed surgical intervention.
Material and methods: In this paper, we report a case of severe bleeding following non-surgical periodontal procedures in a patient treated with a dual anti-platelet regimen post-coronary stent insertion.
Results: Her medical history included ischaemic heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Haemostasis was achieved at the conclusion of the non-surgical periodontal treatment. However, several hours later, the patient arrived at the emergency room and was diagnosed with hypovolemic shock.
Conclusion: This case should raise the clinician's awareness of bleeding complications in non-surgical procedures as well as the risk for bleeding when a dual anti-platelet regimen is administered. The importance of patient monitoring and the use of local haemostatic agents is demonstrated in these cases.