Resources
Everyday health
Mental health and dental care. The parts of a bleeding disorder that are easiest to put off and most expensive to skip.
Everyday health
Mental health
A bleeding disorder is a lifelong condition, and living with one carries a weight that has nothing to do with clotting factor. None of what follows is ours. It is where we send families, and where our own staff go looking first.
If you need someone now
Getting into treatment
When a bleeding disorder is the reason you are turned away
Inpatient and residential programs sometimes refuse people with bleeding disorders, or accept them and then cannot manage the treatment. The Bleeding Disorders Substance Use & Mental Health Access Coalition exists to change that. It was founded in January 2022 by leaders in the bleeding disorders community, and it now brings together the Hemophilia Federation of America, the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation, hemophilia treatment centers, local bleeding disorders organizations and the community itself.
Two of the documents below are written for Texas specifically. Take the right one with you, or send it ahead.
Everyday health
Where else to look
Organizations, reading and training kept by other people. We point to them because they are good, not because we are part of them.
Everyday health
Dental care
Hemophilia and other bleeding disorders do not make you more prone to dental problems. Skipping preventive care is what leads to the complicated, expensive procedures later, and the steps that prevent that are ordinary ones.
Get a dental exam at least once a year, and more often if your dentist says so
- Your dentist or hygienist will explain how dental diseases affect your teeth and gums.
- They check for problems such as cavities or gum disease.
- They treat any problems you already have.
- They teach you how to check for signs of gum disease at home.
- They provide care such as a fluoride treatment to keep your mouth healthy.
- They tell you how to handle problems such as bleeding gums.
Work with your dentist and hygienist on a plan for your teeth
- Ask the best way to care for your teeth at home.
- Ask how often to come in.
- Ask what to do if problems start.
- Ask them to send your exam results and treatment notes to your other doctors after every visit.
Take care of your teeth at home
- Brush at least twice a day with a soft-bristled brush and fluoride toothpaste.
- Floss once a day.
- See a dentist if you think you have gum disease.
- Limit food and drinks that are high in sugar.
Brush up on the basics
- Limit sugary food and drink.
- Keep regular dental appointments.
- Talk with your dentist about fluoride treatments.
If your child has a bleeding disorder
- Start professional dental care when baby teeth begin to come in.
- Do not pull on loose baby teeth.
- Do not let your child run with anything in their mouth.
Take these with you
These materials were produced by the West Virginia Chapter of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation with CAMC, West Virginia University and the West Virginia Oral Health Coalition, and adapted for Lone Star.
Where to next
Keep going
Nothing on this page is medical advice, and none of these organizations are ours. Talk to your treatment center about your own care.