Faculty Collaboration Database

Dental status and quality of life in long-term head and neck cancer survivors. Laryngoscope 2005 Apr;115(4):678-83

Date

04/05/2005

Pubmed ID

15805880

DOI

10.1097/01.mlg.0000161354.28073.bc

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-17244372262 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   85 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To analyze how the dental status of long-term head and neck cancer survivors affects their subjective quality of life.

STUDY DESIGN: Observational case series.

METHODS: A convenience sample of 5-year head and neck cancer survivors underwent the following battery of tests: 1) targeted head and neck examination, 2) updated medical history, 3) dental evaluation, 4) standardized quality of life questionnaires.

RESULTS: Eighty-six survivors were included in the study. The following associations were identified: 1) those who became edentulous secondary to cancer treatment and those without occlusion at time of the study demonstrated worse Pain, Activity, Recreation/Entertainment, Chewing, Swallowing, Speech, Eating in Public, Normalcy of Diet, Physical Well-Being, Social/Family Well-Being, Functional Well-Being, and Additional Concerns scores; 2) higher Decayed/Missing/Filled scores were associated with worse Pain, Disfigurement, Activity, Recreation/Entertainment, Employment, Chewing, Swallowing, Speech, Eating in Public, Understandability of Speech, Normalcy of Diet, Physical Well-Being, Additional Concerns scores, and weight loss; 3) decreased oral opening measurements were associated with worse Chewing, Swallowing, Eating in Public, Normalcy of Diet, Additional Concerns scores, and weight loss; 4) edentulous survivors who did not use dentures had worse Pain, Activity, Recreation/Entertainment, Understandability of Speech, and Eating in Public scores.

CONCLUSIONS: Although previous studies have shown that many of the effects of cancer treatment disappear between 1 and 3 years, this study shows that the dental status has a persistent impact on subjective quality of life.

Author List

Duke RL, Campbell BH, Indresano AT, Eaton DJ, Marbella AM, Myers KB, Layde PM

Author

Bruce H. Campbell MD Emeritus Professor in the Otolaryngology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Activities of Daily Living
Attitude to Health
DMF Index
Deglutition
Dentures
Eating
Feeding Behavior
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Health Status
Humans
Male
Mastication
Middle Aged
Mouth, Edentulous
Oral Health
Pain
Quality of Life
Speech
Speech Intelligibility
Survivors
Trismus