Objective: This study evaluates the frequency of osteoradionecrosis associated with dental extractions.
Study design: A total of 405 patients submitted to radiotherapy and had dental extractions were evaluated. The patients were divided into 3 groups.
Results: In group 1, 316 patients were submitted to 1.647 dental extractions (mean 5.2 teeth per patient) and in another 47 patients the number of teeth removed was not clearly reported. Group 2 comprised 5 patients who had 33 teeth extracted (mean 6.6 each). In group 3, 55 patients had 290 teeth removed (mean 5.3 each) and in another 2 patients the number of dental extractions could not be established. In general, only 3 cases of osteoradionecrosis related to dental extractions were observed: 2 related to exodontias performed before and 1 after radiotherapy.
Conclusions: The low prevalence of osteoradionecrosis found in this work suggests the possibility of performing exodontias after radiotherapy by experienced dentists in the management of head and neck cancer.