Resumen de State of oral health, salivary flow and bacterial flora in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck tumours
Pedro Diz Dios, Flor Caamaño Durán, Mercedes Outumuro Rial, Inmaculada Tomás Carmona, Jacobo Limeres Posse, Javier Fernández Feijoo
lt has been suggested that certain infectious agents play a role in the etiopathogenic and/or severity of most of the complications derived from intraoral radiotherapy. A group of 30 patients with head and neck tumours receiving radiotherapy was studied, analysing the influence of this therapeutic means on the state of oral health, salivary flow and bacterial flora.
The oral health status (DMF index, bleeding on probing and depth of periodontal pockets, dental movement and accumulation of bacterial plaque) was significantly lower in oncological patients (pre-radiotherapy) than in the healthy controls (p<0,0001). Tooth brushing frequency was significantly lower in tumour patients than in the control group. The stimulated pre-radiotherapy salivary flow of the neoplastic patients was 1.1±0.05 ml/min., this figure being similar to the control group and greatly superior to that obtained finishing the radiotherapy (p<0.0001) and three months later (p<0.0005). The detection of pathological swabs (contaminated with bacteria) was more frequent in post-radiotherapy patients than in the control group (p<0.05). In consequence, to reduce the risk of post-radiotherapy oral infectious complications, a strategy based in the application of rigorous standardised methods of oral hygiene, and probably the prophylactic administration of fluorides and unspecific microbicides is suggested.
