Dentists Role in Psychological Screening and Management of Head-and-neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy – Narrative Review

Abstract

Objectives: Head-and-neck cancer management primarily involves surgery and chemoradiotherapy. Recurrent radiotherapy (RT) sessions are often linked to social, physical, and psychological burdens. Oral physicians are part of the palliative care team and play a pivotal role in decimating the physical side effects associated with disease and its treatment. There is a need to familiarise dentists with the psychological aspect of the treatment. Material and Methods: Various libraries were searched from the year 2012 to 2022. A total of nine studies that had head-and-neck RT patients exclusively were included in the study. Results: Anxiety and depression are patients’ most prevalent psychological problems during and after the RT regimen. A few most used psychological screening tools were identified. Conclusion: Dental professionals are uneducated about the holistic approach to managing RT patients. The current narrative review details the various psychological screening tools and care measures that can be incorporated into the dental setup to help these patients.