A systematic review published in The Journal of the American Dental Association associated dental treatment prior to radiation for head and neck cancer with a higher risk of osteoradionecrosis of the jaw, but the evidence was of very low certainty, ADA News reported. “Maintaining optimal oral health may help reduce the need for urgent dental treatment before radiotherapy, potentially reducing the risk of developing osteoradionecrosis of the jaw and minimizing the delay of oncologic treatment in patients with head and neck cancer,” said Ruth Lipman, Ph.D., ADA Science & Research Institute senior director of evidence synthesis and translation research and one of the authors of the review. Dr. Lipman said the results highlight the need for robust and carefully conducted studies on the timing of dental interventions
