Radiation-related damage to dentition

The Effect of Radiotherapy on Dental Pulp Status in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review.

“…Several hypotheses suggest that the direct effects of radiation on the dental pulp would be able to negatively affect the metabolism of odontoblasts and compromise the response of the dentin-pulp complex to the progression of radiation related caries, explaining the absence of pain even in deep carious lesions (3,11). However, other studies do not support direct radiation damage to the innervation of the pulp that would be able to negatively affect the viability of odontoblasts, the repair capacity of dentin against caries progression, and the inhibition of pulp sensitivity and responses to caries progression (10,12,13). As the result of this controversial scenario, it is sometimes stated anecdotally that radiogenic destruction of collagen within the dental pulp contributes to fibrosis and decreased vascularity and sensitivity (14).…”

Effect of Gamma Radiation on Mechanical Properties of Tooth Structure

“…This complication is a complex and destructive disease that causes severe destruction of the tooth enamel and dentin in head and neck-irradiated patients [5,7,8] and has negative effects on their quality of life [8] . Scientific evidence indicates that patients incur a lifelong risk of developing radiation caries following radiation therapy [7] .The effects of radiation therapy on the onset and progression of a caries lesion might be direct or indirect [8] .The indirect effects of irradiation include changes in the quality and quantity of saliva, difficulty in performing proper oral hygiene, increased intake of cariogenic foods,and changes in the oral microbiota [5,7,9] . Radiation therapy may also exert direct effects on the dental structure,including changes in the crystalline structure, enamel and dentin microhardness, dentinoenamel junction, and acid solubility of the enamel; these effects might be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease [6,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] .…”

Effect of high energy X-ray irradiation on the nano-mechanical properties of human enamel and dentine

“…However, because of the typical normal tissue reactions that occur after irradiation, radiation treatment is often accompanied by complex oral complications affecting the salivary glands, 2 oral mucosa, 3 bone, masticatory musculature and dentition. 4,5 Irradiation of the enamel and dentine of the teeth can influence their nano-mechanical structure by decreasing their ultimate tensile Declaration of Interests: The authors certify that they have no commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the manuscript. strength 6,7 and fracture resistance; this is also true of restored teeth 8 .…”