Quality of Life Changes in Patients with Osteoradionecrosis and Their Measurement

Abstract

One of the most serious and debilitating complications of radiation therapy (RT) for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) is osteoradionecrosis of the jaws (ORNJ). ORNJ is defined as radiation-induced ischemic bone necrosis with soft tissue necrosis in the absence of primary tumor, recurrence, or metastatic disease. Even though the incidence of ORNJ has dropped from about 20% to 2–8% as a result of recent advancements in RT techniques, this serious complication is still very challenging to predict, prevent, and treat. It is beyond dispute that ORNJ has detrimental effects on patients' quality of life (QoL). Pain, halitosis, taste disturbance, dysesthesia or anesthesia, trismus, difficulty chewing, swallowing, feeding, and speaking, fistula formation, pathological fracture, and localized or systemic infections are the most frequent symptoms of ORNJ that have an impact on the victim's QoL measures. However, ORNJ-specific QoL studies are scarce in this patient group despite ORNJ's significant harmful effects on the sufferers' physical appearance and functions, mood, and social relationships. By providing readily available information about the physical, social, and emotional effects of ORNJ as measured by general or HNC-specific QoL surveys, this review article aims to serve as a foundation for future studies addressing novel ORNJ-specific questionnaires.

The Best Time to Dental Implant Placement in Patients with Head and Neck Cancers: An Ever-going Debate

“…Multiple tooth loss occurs in this group of patients following RT due to deep rampant caries caused by a decrease in salivary volume, deterioration of salivary components, and RT comorbidities such as mucositis, which dramatically and adversely influence oral hygiene [9,10]. Because of this, patients require dental rehabilitation to enhance their ability to chew, swallow, and bite, to meet their daily nutritional needs, and to improve their aesthetic, social, psychological, and economic quality of life [11]. Traditional removable dentures may not fit comfortably after treatments like RT and surgery because of anatomical changes in the orofacial region and jaws, like dry mouth; for this reason, dental implants are frequently chosen [12,13].…”

Radiotherapy and Dental Implant Applications in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

“…However, with longer life expectancies for HNC patients, it is more important than ever to manage both the short-and long-term side effects of RT and to improve the quality of life of patients (7). One of the most important factors that affect the quality of life of this group of life patients is how well they can manage the oral side effects of oncological therapy, such as chewing, biting, swallowing, speaking, tooth loss, and accompanying facial aesthetic changes (8). Despite some limitations in some patients, oral rehabilitation with removable or fixed prostheses is a common practice used to mitigate these adverse effects and maintain good oral functions.…”