Pretherapy dental status of patients with malignant conditions of the head and neck

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1994 Mar;77(3):236-41. doi: 10.1016/0030-4220(94)90291-7.

Abstract

Maxillofacial problems after radiotherapy to this region are common and have at least a temporal relationship to preexisting odontogenic disease. This study was undertaken to determine the dental status of patients before multimodality therapy for head and neck cancer. One hundred thirty-one patients were examined during their initial visit to a head and neck tumor clinic. The majority of dentulous patients were noncompliant with routine dental care (76%) and oral hygiene (65%). There was a high incidence of alveolar bone loss (66%), clinical caries (71%), and failing restorations (91%). Overall, 73 (97%) of the dentulous patients needed dental care before radiotherapy; however, follow-up visits revealed that 59 (81%) of these patients did not seek the indicated treatment. These data suggest that thorough oral examinations should be performed on all patients before radiotherapy that involves the oral cavity.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Cranial Irradiation
  • DMF Index
  • Dental Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Dental Caries / complications*
  • Dental Restoration, Permanent / statistics & numerical data
  • Dentures / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms / complications*
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms / therapy
  • Health Services Needs and Demand / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Oral Hygiene Index
  • Oral Hygiene*
  • Patient Care Planning
  • Patient Compliance
  • Periodontal Diseases / complications*
  • Periodontal Index
  • Prospective Studies