Preoperative Blood Count in Dentoalveolar Surgery: An Essential Requirement or a Questionable Practice? Institutional Protocol and Evidence Review

ABSTRACT Introduction Current clinical practice in the literature tends to eliminate routine testing in patients classified as ASA I (healthy or with mild, controlled disease) for minor surgery, such as dentoalveolar procedures, as these tests are considered unnecessary. The objective of this study was to challenge this practice by evaluating the prevalence of abnormal laboratory results in a large cohort of 1.610 ASA I patients undergoing dentoalveolar surgery. Methodology A retrospective study was conducted at the Universitario Hospital of Maracaibo between 2023 and 2025, analysing the complete blood count results of 1610 ASA I patients, which challenges the prevailing global approach. Six complete blood count parameters (Haemoglobin, Haematocrit, Platelets, White Blood Count, Segmented Neutrophils and Lymphocytes) were selected and the sample proportion of abnormalities was compared to the threshold using the Z‐test for proportions. Results A high and significant prevalence of abnormalities was found in most parameters: Haemoglobin (23.91%), Haematocrit (13.35%), White Blood Cell Count (16.15%) and Lymphocytes (22.05%). Conclusion Statistical analysis strongly refutes the notion that the risk of haematological pathology in ASA I patients is insignificant. The prevalence of abnormalities in the red blood cell series (anaemia) and white blood cell series (infectious/inflammatory processes) is statistically significant. These findings justify routine blood counts in this population.