The Need for Dental Treatment in a Group of Patients Undergoing Treatment for Malignancies Other Than of the Head and Neck

This paper reports the findings of an audit carried out to estimate the dental needs of patients undergoing oncology therapy for malignant disease at various sites of the body. All of the subjects were in-patients on an oncology ward. Over fifty percent of the patients had dental, periodontal or mucosal disease. It was concluded that there is a need to increase the dental service provided to cancer patients to allow further co-ordination between medical, dental and nursing staff for the prevention, management and resolution of oral complications of cancer therapy. KEY WORDS: Malignancy, Treatment need, Oncology, Restorative Dentistry, Prevention