Oral Surg Oral Med O
-
Oral Surg Oral Med O · Sep 1996
Effects of compliance with fluoride gel application on caries and caries risk in patients after radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
The use of fluoride gel applied in a custom tray once daily has become standard for patients who have xerostomia after undergoing radiation therapy. Compliance may be poor as a result of the inconvenient method of application and because many patients with head and neck cancer have poor health behaviors. Our aim was to investigate the effect of compliance with fluoride gel application on caries and caries risk. ⋯ Differences in the mean caries incidence between those who reported compliance with daily fluoride application and those who did not comply were not found significant because of the large SD in the patient groups, although differences in the mean for these groups were seen. The lack of a statistically significant difference may be due to the multiple factors associated with caries. Therefore patient care must be individualized, and patients must be assessed at regular intervals to determine the caries risk and caries activity to provide guidance for maintenance of the dentition.