[Hemophilic patients. Treatment protocol in the dental office].

Hemophilia is an inherited hemorrhagic disease which is due to the insufficiency of Factor VIII, or Factor IX, or Factor XI. Hemophilia patients are regarded as special patients with increased dental problems. The present paper consists of two parts. In the first part the types of hemophilia, ways of transmission, severity forms, and clinical characteristics are described. In the second part a protocol concerning the dental treatment of hemophilia patients is presented. There are four basic types of hemophilia: hemophilia A or classical hemophilia or Factor VIII deficiency, hemophilia B or Christmas disease, hemophilia C and von Willebrand's disease. Hemophilia is transmitted either as a sex-linked recessive or as an autosomal dominant trait, depending on the type of the disease. The severity of hemophilia depends on the amount of the coagulation factor present. According to this amount, there are four scales of severity. The clinical characteristics of the disease also depend on the amount of the factor present and vary, from occasional bleedings to serious and even life-threatening bleeding episodes. In the second part of the paper the special psychological and physiological problems of the hemophiliacs are discussed. In addition, there is reference to the hematologic coverage these patients need, as well as to the protection measures for the dental personnel against hepatitis and AIDS. The dental treatment plan at the office is presented in detail, including a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment of hemophilia patients in the operating room under general anesthesia.