Treatment and prevention of oral mucositis: A literature review

Abstract Oral health is a cardinal element of nutritional as well as systemic well-being and plays a substantial part in sustaining optimum general health condition. Various factors influence oral health including metabolic diseases such as endocrine, hematological, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, and neurological diseases. The intent of this review is to highlight the treatment as well as prevention strategies for one of the most devastating repercussions of chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) on the oral cavity in the form of oral mucositis (OM). A review of literature was performed using relevant key words (“Mucositis” OR “Oral Mucositis” OR “Oral Stomatitis” AND “Treatment of Mucositis” OR “Treatment of Oral Mucositis” OR “Treatment of Oral Stomatitis” AND “Prevention of Mucositis” OR “Prevention of Oral Mucositis” OR “Prevention of Oral Stomatitis“) in prominent journals pertaining to Oncology and Dentistry (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Cancer, Frontiers in Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Oral Oncology). It is basically sequelae of CT, RT, and radiochemotherapy in patients suffering from malignant diseases as well as those who require hematopoietic stem cell transplants. In addition to its negative effects on the oral cavity and consequently on the overall quality of life, OM may lead to delay in cancer treatment which incriminates in a poor prognosis of the disease.