Do it yourself

I've been replacing my hardware on my cabinets and that's been fine, but I'm about to have to drill some new holes, as I have always thought that those "decorative panels" that just flop down to allow you to put a little tray behind them, should have handles to balance them out. So I have bought enough of the new handles for these panels too. I'm really afraid that I'm about to mess up my cabinets by drilling these holes (like what if measure twice cut once isn't enough!). The cabinets are oak. Does it make any difference if I drill from the back thru to the front or from the front thru to the back. I have to go thru the cabinet completely in order to attach the screw into the handle. I just wondered if for aesthetic reasons, the holes will look better one way or the other ( I guess I'm worried that the wood will splinter -- maybe I'm really worrying too much about these handles!) So, does it matter? Anything I need to be particularly careful of?? Normally when I drill, I just drill to put a screw into the wall to hold a bracket etc. This is a little more precise! Thanks, Sidney