Oral prehabilitation for patients with head and neck cancer: getting it right - the Restorative Dentistry-UK consensus on a multidisciplinary approach to oral and dental assessment and planning prior to cancer treatment

Lorna K. McCaul (Lead / Corresponding author), Stewart Barclay, Peter Nixon, Pamela L. Yule, Jenna Trainor, Brian Stevenson, Andrew Paterson, Ailsa Nicol, Will Keys, Martin Donachie, Dean Barker, Sam Rollings, Simon Killough, James Ban, Andreas Chatzipantelis, Pallavi Gaitonde, Meena Ranka, Zaid Ali, Andrew MacInnes, Carly TaylorAshish Gopakumar, Praveen Sharma, Victoria Harper, Lakshmi Rasaratnam, Ishpinder Toor, Jose M. Rodriguez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
107 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Historically, oral and dental issues for head and neck cancer patients were often not considered until after cancer treatment was complete. As a result, outcomes for oral rehabilitation were sometimes suboptimal. Inconsistencies in service delivery models and qualification, training and experience of staff delivering dental care often compounded this problem, making research and audit almost impossible. Collaborative working by consultants in restorative dentistry from all over the UK as part of a Restorative Dentistry-UK (RD UK) subgroup, renamed more recently as the RD-UK Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Excellence Network (CEN), has re-emphasised the importance of specialist restorative dentistry intervention at the outset of the head and neck cancer pathway to optimise outcomes of patient care. The CEN has driven several initiatives, reflecting Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) principles aimed at reducing unwarranted variation. This improved consistency in approach and optimised collaborative working of the team now presents a better environment for multicentre audit and research. Ultimately, this should result in a continued improvement in patient and carer experience.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)794-800
Number of pages7
JournalBritish Dental Journal
Volume233
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Nov 2022

Keywords

  • Humans
  • Preoperative Exercise
  • Consensus
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy
  • Dentistry
  • United Kingdom

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Dentistry

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