Abed Hassan, Reilly Damien, Burke Mary, Sharka Rayan, Daly Blánaid
Department of Baisc and Clinical Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Special Care Dentistry, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Redhill, Surrey, UK.
Spec Care Dentist. 2023 Mar;43(2):111-118. doi: 10.1111/scd.12755. Epub 2022 Jul 13.
To assess the association between length of dental arch and oral health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients post-radiotherapy.
Thirty head and neck cancer participants reported their oral health-related quality of life using the oral health impact profile-14 instrument and their global self-rating of general and oral health. All patients had received chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The length of dental arch was assessed in three tooth relational categories: canine-to-canine, shortened (premolars to premolars), and long (molars to molars) dental arches. Inclusion of participants for any of the three categories required verification of opposing teeth relationship with Shim Stock paper.
Out of 30 head and neck cancer patients, eight (27%) had a canine-to-canine dental arch, 14 (46%) had a shortened dental arch, and eight (27%) had a long dental arch. The median oral health impact profile-14 scores for participants respectively with the canine-to-canine dental arch was six (IQR = 9.25), seven (IQR = 8) for participants with shortened dental arch, and 11 (IQR = 12.5) for participants with long dental arch. There were no significant differences in oral health impact profile-14 scores between the three-tooth relational groups (Kruskal-Wallis H = 0.769, df = 2, P-value = .681). Similarly, there were no significant differences between three-tooth relational groups on the self rating of general (Chi-squared = 1.714, df = 2, P-value = .424) and oral health (Chi-squared = 1.393, df = 2, P-value = .498).
Within the limitations of this study, no association was found between the length of dental arch and oral health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients post-radiotherapy. Other factors such as dry mouth, oral mucositis, loss of taste, and trismus should be considered as contributory factors to reduced oral health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients post-radiotherapy, particularly in relation to eating difficulties.
评估头颈部癌症患者放疗后牙弓长度与口腔健康相关生活质量之间的关联。
30名头颈部癌症参与者使用口腔健康影响程度量表-14工具报告其口腔健康相关生活质量以及他们对总体健康和口腔健康的整体自评。所有患者均接受了化疗和放疗。牙弓长度在三种牙齿关系类别中进行评估：尖牙到尖牙、缩短型（前磨牙到前磨牙）和长型（磨牙到磨牙）牙弓。纳入任何一类别的参与者都需要用 Shim Stock 纸验证对颌牙齿关系。
在30名头颈部癌症患者中，8名（27%）有尖牙到尖牙的牙弓，14名（46%）有缩短型牙弓，8名（27%）有长型牙弓。尖牙到尖牙牙弓的参与者口腔健康影响程度量表-14得分中位数为6（四分位距=9.25），缩短型牙弓的参与者为7（四分位距=8），长型牙弓的参与者为11（四分位距=12.5）。三种牙齿关系组之间口腔健康影响程度量表-14得分无显著差异（Kruskal-Wallis H=0.769，自由度=2，P值=0.681）。同样，三种牙齿关系组在总体健康自评（卡方=1.714，自由度=2，P值=0.424）和口腔健康自评（卡方=1.393，自由度=2，P值=0.498）方面也无显著差异。
在本研究的局限性范围内，未发现头颈部癌症患者放疗后牙弓长度与口腔健康相关生活质量之间存在关联。其他因素，如口干、口腔黏膜炎、味觉丧失和牙关紧闭，应被视为头颈部癌症患者放疗后口腔健康相关生活质量下降的促成因素，尤其是在进食困难方面。
