Evaluation of Radiation-induced Class V Dental Caries in Patients with Head and Neck Cancers Undergoing Radiotherapy

Background and aims. Salivary glands are very susceptible to radiation and any disturbances in their func-tion are detrimental to the hard tissues in the oral cavity. The aim of this study was to evaluate posterior class V dental caries in patients with head and neck cancers undergoing radiotherapy. Materials and methods. In this study, twenty seven patients undergoing conventional radiotherapy were included. Class V dental caries of posterior teeth in these patients were evaluated in three intervals: before treat-ment, 3 weeks after the initiation of the treatment, and at the end of the treatment. Differences of mean caries activity between intervals were evaluated using paired sample t-test. Results. There were no class V decays prior to radiotherapy. Mean percentage of class V caries three weeks after radiotherapy and at the end of radiotherapy were 28.42% ± 14.41 and 67.05% ± 19.02, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in mean values among three stages (P = 0.00025). Conclusion. The results of the present study revealed that radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancers causes class V dental caries on posterior teeth.