OSTEORADIONECROSIS

What is osteoradionecrosis?

Osteoradionecrosis, as the name implies, is a necrosis (“death”) of the maxillary bone or part of it, caused by radiation from radiotherapy. It’s one of the most feared complications of head and neck radiotherapy.

When does it happen?

It happens in 5% of cases of people who undergo radiotherapy in the head and neck region, and can also arise spontaneously or after local trauma such as tooth extraction or implant placement.

What are the risk factors?

Age
Male
Poor oral hygiene
Smoking
Alcoholic beverages
Nutritional status

How is it manifest?

Osteoradionecrosis is manifest through:

very intense pain in the jaws
bad breath
bone exposure inside the mouth
mucosal ulcerations
bone infection inside the mouth

Can it be prevented?

Yes. “Prevention is the best treatment”. Did you know that there is a set of measures that you should adopt for your mouth before, during and after radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy treatment?

Can it be treated?

Yes. Although prevention is better than treatment, when the condition is already established, the necrotic or “dead” bone must always be removed, the most appropriate antibiotics must be used and we now have new treatments that can be applied successfully.

If you want to carry out this monitoring with us, please contact our team. We will do a multidisciplinary follow-up with your oncology team, you and your family.