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Dental Problems Of The Dentist

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If you are diagnosed with any type of Head and Neck cancer, the last person you would think about visiting is your dentist. Most patients are surprised when told that they will have to see a dentist before any cancer treatments can be started. The dentist plays an important role in preventing serious mouth problems before and after your radiation treatments and also helps you maintain good oral health during and after your treatments. Dental problems such as gum disease, cavities, and poorly fitting dentures can get worse during treatments. This will be crucial not only for esthetic purposes but for functionality of your mouth as well. Head and neck cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in the United States. It is estimated that …show more content…

The studies found that poor condition of the mouth, poor fitting dentures, and missing teeth were in fact among the causes of oral cancer. There are different treatments for head and neck cancers. Radiation and surgery are major curative modalities with adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced stages. Radiation therapy is indicated in the majority of head and neck cancers because of where the tumors are located in this region and are often inaccessible for surgery. Radiation therapy is the use of high energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells. The radiation may be delivered by a machine outside the body called external-beam radiation therapy, or it may come from radioactive material that is placed in the body near the cancer cells, that is called internal radiation therapy, or brachytherapy. Radiation kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. DNA that is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die off. Once the damaged cells die, they are broken down and the body eliminates them by the body 's natural processes. Radiation can damage normal cells as well. All the doctors involved in creating a treatment plan for the patient, take potential damage to normal cells into account when planning a course of radiation therapy. All normal tissue has a certain amount of radiation that it can safely receive and tolerate with Gonzalez 3 out complications. Radiation can be used before surgery to shrink

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