title: Pretherapy dental status of patients with malignant conditions of the head and neck.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC 28232-2861.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Lockhart
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016371:Cranial Irradiation; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000150:complications*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003778:Dentures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D011446:Prospective Studies