title: Dental management of low socioeconomic level patients before radiotherapy of the head and neck with special emphasis on the prevention of osteoradionecrosis.
abstract: Head and neck cancer patients need to receive dental care previously to radiotherapy. Even patients who regularly visit dental offices need special attention including prophylactic and curative treatments. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the dental status of Brazilian head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients with low socioeconomic level as well as to discuss the dental treatment performed and the oral side effects of radiotherapy. Forty patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma received dental care and dental extractions prior to radiotherapy and were were followed up for a mean period of 28.7 months after the cancer treatment. Before radiotherapy, 28 patients were dentulous and 12 edentulous, and all of them had poor oral health and hygiene. The most common treatment performed were dental extraction and 23 patients had 8.6 teeth extracted on average. One out of 9 (11.1%) patients developed radiation caries and 5 out of 23 cases (21.3% - Group I) developed osteoradionecrosis, being only 1 case associated with previous dental extraction. Brazilian low-socioeconomic level patients with head and neck cancer were submitted to multiple dental extractions due to poor dental conditions and inadequate oral care. The dental treatment did not prevent osteoradionecrosis, which presumably presented a multifactorial etiology in most cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Semiology, School of Dentistry, State University of Montes Claros, Avenida Corinto Crisóstomo Freire 600, 39401-365 Montes Claros, MG, Brazil. pbonan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Paulo Rogério Ferreti
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Bonan
authors.forename: Márcio Ajudarte
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Fábio Ramoa
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: Oslei Paes de
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Almeida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007571:Jaw Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000473:pathology; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000528:radiation effects; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010025:Osteoradionecrosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011203:Poverty; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D014081:Tooth Extraction