Reasonable necessity of preoperative laboratory tests in office-based oral and maxillofacial surgery

IntroductionPreoperative assessments of the general status of patients before oral and maxillofacial surgery are often based on information reported by patients.However, the information can be limited, and the patient could intentionally hide underlying disease or not recognize abnormal health status.In a dental office, there are many surgical procedures performed under local anesthesia, and patients are often nervous and frightened.An urgent situation such as cardiac arrest, anaphylactic shock, syncope, or hypoglycemic shock can be encountered in the local clinic 1 .Preoperative evaluation is a basic and important step for identification of previously undetermined conditions that may place the patient at risk during surgery and the postoperative period as well as assessment of known conditions 2 .The utility of routine preoperative laboratory tests is controversial.Some authors encourage routine tests, while others suggest only obtaining a patient history and physical examination 3 .As life expectancy increases, the number of elderly patients who require oral and maxillofacial surgical treatment has also increased.There is also a need for a more professional and reliable treatment process under the Korean dental specialist system.A careful preoperative