Importance of Dental Oncology in a Tertiary Care Center

Mutum Sangeeta Devi; Nilanjana Bhattacharyya; Asif Ahmed

doi:10.37591/rrjooh.v12i2.3267

Abstract

A tertiary care center revolves around providing highly specialized medical support to patients of all domains. Dental management plays a crucial role in the comprehensive care of patients with Head and Neck cancer, encompassing various phases of treatment. Thus, tertiary care centers should have a wellequipped dental oncology department that runs hand in hand with Head and Neck Surgery and also Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Treatment of oral cancer revolves around surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, either individual or combined which in turn brings along several oral complications. Dental Oncology not only takes care of such problems, it also keeps an eye on the recurrence of the primary disease or anything secondary in and around the specific site. Importance of this domain also lies in terms of post-surgical prosthetic rehabilitation and after care. This review of the literature emphasizes the significance of dental oncology within tertiary healthcare institutions. It also shows the amount of awareness regarding Dental Oncology as a whole globally, stressing on the fact that the Indian subcontinent needs to fill in the gap fast.

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