Abstract
Although the demand for oral health care for patients at the rehabilitation stage after surgery for head and neck tumors has been increasing, clinical guidelines for such oral health care have not been established. The objective of this study was to investigate the current status of such patients and the problems which dental hygienists faced. According to the medical records, a total of 1,158 patients visited the dental hygienist unit of Tohoku University Hospital in 2013, including 18 patients at the rehabilitation stage after surgery for head and neck tumors. Professional oral health care significantly decreased PCR at the last visits compared to those at the first visits （p＜0.01）. The questionnaire survey of dental hygienists revealed that they were often concerned about insufficient information about care of the surgical field, aspiration prevention, and psychological support. These results suggested that professional oral health care by dental hygienists might motivate the patients to improve their oral health and that clinical guidelines for the oral health care for patients with head and neck tumors are needed.
