This review of the osteoradionecrosis rate in patients with head and neck cancer having toothth extraction performed before radiotherapy included 8 mainly retrospective studies. The pooled incidence rate was estimated at 2.2% (95% CI: 0.6% to 3.9%) although none of the studies controlled for other risk factors.
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This review assessing the effectiveness of intraoral stents in reducing toxicities in oral cavity induced by radiotherapy in head and neck region included 7 small studies. While the analysis suggests a beneficial effect from the use of intraoral stents the included studies only provide verylow certainty evidence so further high-quality RCTs are needed.
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This review of the distribution of histological subtypes, treatment and overall survival (OS) rates of head and neck sacomas included 8 studies from 6 countries. Meta-analysis (5 studies) found the 5-year OS = 74%(95%CI; 63 to 84%)
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This review of whether the incidence of osteoradionecrosis differed between patients who have dental extractions before or after radiotherapy (RT) included 24 studies (19 retrospective 5 prospective). While the findings suggest that the incidence is similar if extractions are undertaken before or after RT the quality of the evidence is limited.
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Manas Dave takes a look at this review evaluating the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in patients who might or have developed oral mucositis during chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
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This review assessing the evidence of the impact of replacing missing teeth with dentures on the development of osteoradionecrosis in patients who have radiotherapy for head and neck cancer only identified 3 case-controlled studies of very low quality.
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This Cochrane review of interventions for preventing osteoradionecrosis of the jaws in adults with head and neck cancer undergoing curative or adjuvant (i.e. non-palliative) radiotherapy included 4 RCTs. The limited quality of the available studies means evidence regarding the interventions evaluated in this review is uncertain.
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This review of of the effects of oral supplementation on the prevention and/or treatment of oral mucositis in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy included 12 RCTs and suggest that Zinc supplements may be beneficial.
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This review of a link between past dental visits/check-ups and the incidence cancers of head and neck includes 38 studies the majority of which are case-controlled studies. The findings suggest that those are irregular of never attenders are more likely to have head and neck cancer.
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12 RCTs were included in this Cochrane review update of surgical approches for the management of oral and pharyngeal cancer. The certaintly of the evidence was very low as there were limited numbers of studies for each comparison.
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