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Oral health status and dental care behaviours of head and neck cancer patients: a cross-sectional study in an Austrian tertiary hospital

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Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to assess the oral health status and dental care behaviours of patients treated for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in an Austrian tertiary hospital.

Materials and methods

Dental care behaviours, oral hygiene level, caries, and periodontal parameters were assessed in 48 patients treated for HNSCC >6 months ago.

Results

Only 52 % requested a dental check-up after HNSCC diagnosis and prior to treatment, and of those, 80 % received some type of dental treatment. At time-point of clinical examination, 69 % of the patients had consulted a dentist within the last year, but 88 % still needed dental treatment; 75 % had at least one tooth with caries and 78 % had moderate to severe periodontitis.

Conclusion

Although it was recommended, only half of the patients did consult a dentist prior to HNSCC treatment and oral health appeared, in general, low prioritized.

Clinical relevance

About 90 % of the current group of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cancer patients presented large treatment needs, both in regard with caries and periodontal disease, about 20 months after cancer treatment.

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Compliance with ethical standards

ᅟ

Funding

No funding other than institutional employment was provided in relation to the present study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the ethics committee of the Medical University of Vienna (case no: EK 1233/2013) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Odontology, University of Malmö, Malmö, Sweden

    Kristina Bertl & Andreas Stavropoulos

  2. Division of Oral Surgery, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Kristina Bertl

  3. Division of Phoniatrics-Logopedics, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    Stefanie Loidl & Berit Schneider-Stickler

  4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Ulana Kotowski, Gregor Heiduschka & Dietmar Thurnher

Authors
  1. Kristina Bertl
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  2. Stefanie Loidl
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  3. Ulana Kotowski
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  4. Gregor Heiduschka
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  5. Dietmar Thurnher
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  6. Andreas Stavropoulos
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  7. Berit Schneider-Stickler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Berit Schneider-Stickler.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 7

Table 7 Checklist on the STROBE (‘Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology’) statement
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Bertl, K., Loidl, S., Kotowski, U. et al. Oral health status and dental care behaviours of head and neck cancer patients: a cross-sectional study in an Austrian tertiary hospital. Clin Oral Invest 20, 1317–1327 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-015-1618-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-015-1618-x

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