Dental Division

Oral care plays an important role in the management of cancer patients especially those with Head and Neck cancer. Chemotherapy, Surgery and Radiation can affect the dental and oral health of cancer patients. The Scope of the Dental Division is to minimize oral and dental complications throughout cancer treatment by eliminating all focus of infections in the oral cavity. Oral care of cancer patients begins immediately following cancer diagnosis and before starting any oncologic management. Properly addressing oral health concerns at the pre-treatment stage can prevent or significantly reduce the severity of oral issues that could complicate or even interrupt the patient's treatment schedule. During treatment, the aim is to prevent/minimize oral complications and manage side effects. After the cancer treatment, teeth and gums should be kept healthy and any long-term side effects of cancer treatment should be managed.

The major activities of this division are bifurcated to include pre and post-treatment dental checkups of patients with head and neck cancer. Dental evaluation before cancer treatment is a necessity, as the Dental Division prepares the patients for their upcoming treatment by incorporating oral health care and dental prophylactic treatment for strengthening and retaining the existing dentition. Dental evaluation is required for patients who undergo surgery for oral cancer, head and neck radiotherapy, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Counselling regarding proper oral care, during and after treatment is provided to address concerns about dental health. We have started professional application of sodium fluoride gel once in three months for the prevention of radiation caries in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy since January 2017. This method has good compliance, reduced cost, changes in the dental status of the patient can be assessed during each visit and timely intervention of dental and oral comorbidities are also possible.

The division comprises of one consultant, one dental hygienist and other supporting staff. Our future plan is to start a Maxillofacial Prosthetic Rehabilitation service for those patients who had undergone extensive surgical resection for oral cancer.

Patient statistics in the year 2022-2023

Total number of patient visits-7816, Pre-treatment dental check-ups- 3186, BMT/Stem cell therapy consultations- 49, Dental Prophylaxis -306, Professional applications of sodium fluoride gel - 4177, Trismus management -75, and Osteoradionecrosis management- 3 were done during 2022-23.

• 
  • Name: Dr. Divya Raj, MDS
  • Designation:Associate Professor
  • Division:Dental Division
  • Clinical Expertise: Dental care for cancer patients, Pre & Post radiation dental care, Post chemotherapy dental care, Pre& post surgical dental care.
  • Out Patient Clinic:
  • Contact:
    Email:dr.divyaabi@gmail.com
    Office Phone:+91 471 2522307
    Fax:+91 471 2447454