Adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen in irradiated patients requiring dental extractions: Outcomes and complications

Purpose: This study assessed complications of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) thera py; potential predictors of poor outcome, and treatment outcomes in irradia ted patients undergoing dental extractions. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective, descriptive study of 10 conse cutive patients treated with HBO before and after dental extractions in an irradiated field. All patients had radiation caries; none had osteoteoradio necrosis (ORN). All were prescribed a protocol of 20 pre-extraction and 10 postextraction HBO treatments at 2.4 ATA for 30 minutes. Potential risk fac tors for poor healing acid risk factors for complications were identified. All complications were recorded. Extraction site healing was evaluated at t he conclusion of HBO therapy, at 1 month, and 1 year later. Results: There were no serious complications. There was no correlation betw een preidentified risk factors and poor healing. At 1 year, 98.5% of all ex traction sites were healed. Patients who did not heal were an average of 8 years since radiation, compared with 3.3 years for those who healed (P < .0 01). Conclusion: Use of HBO is associated with a very low incidence of ORN at 1- year follow-up, However, the time since radiation has a positive correlatio n with risk for ORN, (C) 2001 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacia l Surgeons.