title: Gingival health and salivary function in head and neck-irradiated patients. A five-year follow-up.
abstract: Gingival health and salivary gland function were evaluated for a period of 5 years in 14 patients who received head and neck irradiation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (seven patients; total dose greater than 60 Gy, nasopharyngeal field) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (seven patients; total dose less than 50 Gy, "mantle" field). Plaque index (PII), bleeding index (BI), gingival recession (GR), whole saliva flow rate (WSFR), left parotid sialographic morphology, and salivary gland radioisotopic activity were assessed immediately before radiotherapy and annually thereafter. The nasopharyngeal group had perfect correlation between postradiation depression of WSFR and the sialographic and scintigraphic scores (R = -1.00 and -0.96, respectively). The degree of gland dysfunction correlated negatively with BI and the BI/PII ratio (r = -0.497) and with GR (r = 0.681). The same correlations were noted in the group with Hodgkin's lymphoma during the first 3 years of follow-up. However, recovery of parotid gland function (WSFR and scintigraphic scores) and morphology (sialographic scores) and return to the preradiation relation between WSFR and both BI/PII ratio (r = 0.75) and GR (r = -0.71) were noted in the fourth year. The differences between the nasopharyngeal and Hodgkin's lymphoma groups are attributable to the delineation of the radiation field employed in each group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Oral Diagnosis, Oral Radiology, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Markitziu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zafiropoulos
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tsalikis
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005881:Gingiva / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000209:etiology; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D012636:Secretory Rate; D012796:Sialography