[Oral management for perioperative patients.]

During perioperative period, several oral-related complications happen to occur, including not only postoperative pneumonia and surgical site infection, but also damage to teeth. Furthermore, in case of surgeries where the materials such as prosthetic valves and artificial joints are installed inside the body, there is a potential risk of developing foreign material infections due to bacteremia from the oral cavity as the periodontitis remains there. There is a possibility that a necessary treatment during perioperative period is not performed with only the oral cleaning which is narrowly defined as oral care, without an assessment of potential problems for oral. The oral-related perioperative complications can be prevented by putting the oral management into practice, which include a necessary dental treatment, rehabilitation for mastication and swallowing, and education of patients and medical staff, based on accurate oral assessment.