title: Oral Health Status of Patients Undergoing Treatment for Head and Neck Oncology in Northern Ireland.
abstract: This study aimed to collect data on the oral health status of patients undergoing treatment for head and neck oncology across Northern Ireland. Data were collected on all patients referred to the Northern Ireland Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Oncology Team for discussion and treatment planning. Each patient underwent pre-treatment dental assessment in the Centre for Dentistry, Queen's University Belfast, between June 2013 and November 2014. Data were collected from clinical oral examinations supplemented with intra-oral radiographs. During the course of the study 96 patients were assessed and the levels of dental disease observed in this cohort were high. On clinical examination 43% were diagnosed with caries and 46% with periodontal disease. Ten patients were completely edentate. The disease profile of this patient group presents significant challenges to dental services tasked with rendering patients dentally fit prior to undergoing oncology treatment.
authors.forename: Ciaran
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Killough
authors.forename: Neill
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Markey
authors.forename: Lewis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Winning
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McKenna
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D011861:Radiography, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data