No evidence-based guidelines exist for preventive dental care before radiation therapy (RT) in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. An ongoing multicenter, prospective cohort study, Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients (OraRad) (1U01DE022939-01), is addressing this knowledge gap. The present manuscript evaluates the level of pre-RT dental disease in the OraRad cohort, factors associated with dental disease, and dental treatment recommendations made pre-RT.
As part of OraRad, caries, periodontal disease, dental recommendations, and dental interventions performed pre-RT were assessed.
Baseline measures are reported for 356 participants (77% male) with mean (SD) age 59.9 (11.0) years. Measures included mean number of teeth (22.9), participants with at least one tooth with caries (37.2%), and participants with at least 1 tooth with probing depth ≥5 mm (47.4%). Factors associated with less extensive pre-RT dental disease included having at least a high school diploma, having dental insurance, history of routine dental care, and a smaller tumor size (T1 or T2). Based on the pre-RT dental examination, 163 (49.5%) participants had dental treatment recommended before RT, with extractions recommended most frequently.