ABSTRACT
Historically, oral and dental issues for head and neck cancer patients were often not considered until after cancer treatment was complete. As a result, outcomes for oral rehabilitation were sometimes suboptimal. Inconsistencies in service delivery models and qualification, training and experience of staff delivering dental care often compounded this problem, making research and audit almost impossible. Collaborative working by consultants in restorative dentistry from all over the UK as part of a Restorative Dentistry-UK (RD UK) subgroup, renamed more recently as the RD-UK Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Excellence Network (CEN), has re-emphasised the importance of specialist restorative dentistry intervention at the outset of the head and neck cancer pathway to optimise outcomes of patient care. The CEN has driven several initiatives, reflecting Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) principles aimed at reducing unwarranted variation. This improved consistency in approach and optimised collaborative working of the team now presents a better environment for multicentre audit and research. Ultimately, this should result in a continued improvement in patient and carer experience.
Subject(s)
Head and Neck Neoplasms , Preoperative Exercise , Humans , Consensus , Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy , Dentistry , United KingdomABSTRACT
The 'dynias' are a group of chronic focal pain syndromes with a predilection for the orocervical and urogenital regions. This is a case report of stomatodynia (burning mouth syndrome) and vulvodynia coexisting in a middle-aged woman. The dynias are an enigma in terms of aetiology, which is multifactorial, making clinical investigations difficult and often requiring liaison with other specialties.
