Psychologic considerations in the management of oral surgical patients

Entering the often-sterile milieu that characterizes most surgical and presurgical environments sets into motion, for most patients, emotional or psychologic reactions. At times, these inner stirrings may manifest in the form of outward behaviors, such as expressions of anxiety or anger or verbalizations suggestive of depression. The essential psychologic issue is that undergoing any surgery--minor, major, elective, or urgent--is far from an emotionally neutral event for typical oral surgical patients.