Relationship between the healing rate of post-extraction sites and the quantity of platelets present in the blood: a retrospective observational study.

Background: In daily surgical practice, the dentist deals with various types of oral surgery. At the first visit, the patient fills out a questionnaire about their state of health. If the questionnaire does not reveal any particular hematological problems, no special tests are usually required to determine the platelet count. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the healing process of patients and its correlation with platelet levels before surgery.

Methods: A total of 50 patients were included in whom blood chemistry tests were performed with special attention to the platelet count and before their mandibular eights were extracted .The type of healing (EHI) and pain on the second day (VAS) were assessed using methods validated in the literature.

Results: After the EHI and VAS scores were noted in the medical records, envelopes containing the platelet scores of the previously requested blood samples, which were not read at the time of observation, were opened. An increase in EHI scores and a decrease in VAS scores was observed that were statistically significantly correlated with increasing platelet scores.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the dentist should request chemistry tests on preoperative blood, especially if the patient is to undergo a particularly demanding oral surgical procedure, such as implants, guided bone regeneration or complex extractions.