Abstract
Current trend of aging society suggests that many patients are at risk for various preoperative preparations and postoperative complications during and following invasive dental procedures, due to an acquired medically compromised conditions from systemic disease and/or from medications. The medical history is critical for the identification of patients potentially at risk for medically compromised and old aged patients' factors from dental treatment. The proper dental management requires an understanding of certain principles of pathophysiology for these medical conditions and some standard laboratory tests. Polypharmacy in old age, besides representing a risk in and of itself, points to the potential risk the underlying diseases that necessitated the drugs can present in the dental office. These diseases and medications can also present a risk to oral health. A sequence for categorizing drugs in a medication list is presented here to aid in the identification of potential risks in the dental treatment and management of patients with complex medical histories and drug regimens. Specific patient populations, such as pediatric, may have specific drugs or additional criteria that need to be considered. Practitioners must use the health history and the medication list in concert, using one to make sense of the other and utilizing all the information available from reviewing each one carefully in order to manage their increasingly complex patients safely and effectively.