Dental Care in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

In Regard to Nath et al. (2022) (doi: 10.1007/s12070-021-02941-x)

“…The article by Nath et al (1) on the topic of dental care and treatment for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) before, during, and after radiotherapy (RT) caught our attention and earned our respect (RT). The authors discussed the acute and chronic side effects of RT and chemoradiotherapy on HNC patients as well as the contributing factors.…”

“…The authors discussed the acute and chronic side effects of RT and chemoradiotherapy on HNC patients as well as the contributing factors. The authors also conducted a literature review on dental care, tooth extraction, decision-making criteria for tooth extraction, and precautions to be taken prior to, during, and following RT to prevent osteoradionecrosis (ORN) and rampant caries [1]. While the authors did a valuable job of outlining steps that can be taken to avoid these two complications, we do have two inquiries that need addressing.…”

“…Second, Nath et al [1] identified pre-RT tooth extraction as a significant risk factor for ORN development; however, the increasing significance of the pre-RT traumatic load, measured by the number of extracted teeth, was not addressed. Nevertheless, Yilmaz et al have recently highlighted a clear association between the number of teeth extracted before the C-CRT and the risk of ORN following C-CRT [5].…”

Stimuli‐Responsive Nanoradiosensitizers for Enhanced Cancer Radiotherapy

“…Radiodermatitis is one common side effect, with ≈95% of patients experiencing various types of skin irritations. [21][22][23] Second, hypoxic tumor microenvironments (TME) contribute to radio-resistance and tumor recurrence. [24][25][26][27] Lastly, glutathione (GSH) overexpression within the TME impairs RT efficacy by eliminating excess free radicals, which reverse oxidative damage in cancer cells.…”