Experience of primary dental care teams in managing the oral

Experience of primary dental care teams in managing the oral health of oncology patients

As part of the SDCEP process for assessing the feasibility of proposed guidance topics, scoping work was carried out earlier this year on the subject of managing the oral health of oncology patients. Focus groups were held with dental professionals from across Scotland, including dentists, hygienists and therapists from both the general and public dental services. Analysis of the focus group discussions revealed that communication between dental and medical teams can be variable and patients often receive mixed messages about what they can and cannot do while undergoing treatment. Dental professionals also expressed concern about patients’ experiences while on care pathways and noted variability in how patients engage with their treatment options.

The findings from the focus groups have now been written up for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The research team now plan to conduct focus groups with patients who are undergoing, or who have undergone, cancer treatment, in order to understand their experiences of dental care. We hope to conduct these patient focus groups over the next few months.