Treatment and maintenance of a dentate patient with 'radiation caries'

Patients with xerostomia are presenting dental practitioners with challenges in caries control, long-term restoration and prosthodontic difficulties. In many cases, extraction may be the best option, but for younger, dentate patients, this may be inappropriate. This paper describes the management of a young partially dentate patient with severe xerostomia following irradiation of the salivary glands. Preventive and restorative management are discussed, together with treatment and healing of peri-radicular pathology. The case report demonstrates that long-term stabilization and management of caries and peri-radicular lesions are possible over a seven-year period for a patient with severe radiation caries.