Discussion
dysphagia, xerostomia, caries, hyposalivation, dysgeusia, trismus
DYSPHAGIA, XEROSTOMIA, ADVERSE EVENTS, FUNGAL INFECTIONS, CARIES, HYPOSALIVATION, OSTEORADIONECROSIS, CAVITY, TRISMUS
RT may cause significant adverse events in the oral cavity of patients with HNC (i.e. osteoradionecrosis, dysphagia, dysgeusia, caries, and trismus) [No differences were found in the other variables. Probably, RT has a significant damaging effect on the salivary glands, making the effect of smoking negligible. The same explanation could be provided regarding previous oncologic therapies (chemotherapy and surgery), which did not show any influence on xerostomia symptoms, confirming how RIX is mainly or totally due to RT damage to the salivary glands. Finally, this study did not highlight any differences in patient age. The incidence of xerostomia is usually higher in older patients because they show several comorbidities and undergo pharmacological therapies, which usually lead to hyposalivation and xerostomia [Another limitation of this study is that we only enrolled 32 patients. Although the crossover design has virtually allowed for doubling the sample size, further trials, with more patients, are needed to increase the generalisability of our results.In conclusion, the product has shown a promising effect in reducing the discomfort associated with RIX, but other potential effects, such as its role in preventing caries and modifying the oral microbiota by reducing the risk of fungal infections, are yet to be determined in further trials.