Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 13, 2025
Proton Therapy Delivery and Its Clinical Application in Select Solid Tumor Malignancies
Published on: February 6, 2019
The Impact of Brachytherapy on Dental Development in Pediatric Head and Neck Tumor Survivors: A Pilot Study
Wenting Yu1, Guohao Zhang2, Shaofeng Wang1
1Department of Orthodontics, Beijing Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Background:
This study aimed to investigate the impact of brachytherapy on dental development in pediatric and adolescent patients with head and neck tumors. Specifically, the study characterized the clinical manifestations of dental anomalies and evaluated the potential influence of patient- and treatment-related factors.
Procedure:
A total of 35 panoramic radiographs of head and neck tumor survivors were evaluated and compared with panoramic radiographs of matched healthy controls. The mean age from the start of brachytherapy was 6.6 years (0.8-16.0 years), and the mean age for imaging examinations in the study group was 13.2 years (4.3-21.2 years). Tooth agenesis, microdontia, and root shortage were identified.
Results:
Dental anomalies were found in 32 head and neck tumor survivors (91.43%) and 11 control subjects (28.95%). Teeth with short roots were found in 25 tumor patients (71.43%) and 8 control subjects (21.05%). Microdontic teeth were found in 17 tumor survivors (48.57%) and 2 control subjects (5.26%), whereas agenesis of teeth was found in 18 tumor patients (51.43%) and 5 control subjects (13.16%). The occurrence of dental anomalies is correlated with the age at start of brachytherapy and the treatment modalities.
Conclusions:
Dental development was considerably impacted by brachytherapy, especially for children under the age of 3, whereas the post-10-year age period is regarded as a relatively low-risk window. Short roots were identified as the most commonly observed type of dental developmental anomaly.
