The Role of Dental Practitioners in the Management of Oncology Patients: The Head and Neck Radiation Oncology Patient and the Medical Oncology Patient

Adepitan A Owosho; Katherine DeColibus; Beverly Hedgepeth; Burton C Wood; Ritter E Sansoni; John P Gleysteen; David L Schwartz

doi:10.3390/dj11050136

The Role of Dental Practitioners in the Management of Oncology Patients: The Head and Neck Radiation Oncology Patient and the Medical Oncology Patient

Dent J (Basel). 2023 May 17;11(5):136. doi: 10.3390/dj11050136.

Authors

Adepitan A Owosho^{1

2}, Katherine DeColibus³, Beverly Hedgepeth³, Burton C Wood², Ritter E Sansoni², John P Gleysteen^{2

4}, David L Schwartz⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
² Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
³ Division of Oral Diagnosis, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
⁴ Division of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.

Abstract

This narrative review addresses the role of a dentist in the management of oncology patients, highlighting the oral complications that arise in head and neck radiation oncology patients and medical oncology patients. The prevention and management of these complications are discussed.

Keywords: HPV; IMRT; bone marrow transplant; dental oncology; haemopoietic stem cell transplant; immune checkpoint inhibitors; immunotherapy; medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw; mucositis; oral cancer; oropharyngeal cancer; osteoradionecrosis; proton beam radiotherapy; trismus; xerostomia.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.