Oral Manifestations Arising From Radiotherapy

Abstract

Introduction: Dentistry currently plays an important role in the different therapeutic phases against cancer, whether in the phase that precedes cancer treatment, where a previous evaluation can effectively reduce complications arising from infectious or inflammatory processes of oral origin, which can exacerbate during treatment. and after neoplastic treatment, or in the prevention of oral sequelae that occur during and after radiotherapy treatment. Objectives: To carry out a literature review on the oral manifestations resulting from radiotherapy, addressing the management and treatment of complications. Materials and methods: This is a descriptive work with a qualitative aspect of literature review, where scientific articles and books were used as research sources. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 96 studies were found and 22 were selected. Results and discussion: The oral manifestations resulting from radiotherapy are well recognized in the literature and the most frequent are oral mucositis, xerostomia, loss of taste, trismus and osteoradionecrosis. Conclusion: Adequacy of medium before radiotherapy treatment is widely recommended in the literature as a prevention of oral manifestations resulting from cancer treatment. In addition, dental follow-up of the patient during cancer treatment is necessary, for this, it is recommended that the dentist be part of the multidisciplinary oncology team. Thus, combining prevention with follow-up, it is possible to obtain a reduction in the rates of involvement of these manifestations and, consequently, less interruption of treatment and an improvement in the quality of life of radiotherapy patients.