Importance of a dental approach in head and neck cancer therapy

Abstract

Recent developments in molecular and genetic science have led to the early diagnosis of malignant cellular alterations of oral tissues, and escalated the number of new oral cancer cases detected each year. However, the treatment methods of cancer have not changed too much over the years, and the complications of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have continued to cause severe oral problems. Due to the increased frequency of this type of cancer in the population, dental practitioners have more opportunity to treat these patients. Therefore, dental health-care providers should continuously up-date their knowledge, not only about the oral cancer therapy and its oral complications, but also about its prevention and management options.