Trismus and oral health conditions during diagnosis of malignant oral neoplasms

IntroductionTrismus has been considered a late complication of cancer treatment. It can occur prior to treatment, mainly caused by tumor invasion or muscle spasms induced by the presence of the tumor.ObjectiveIn this study, we evaluated the incidence of trismus and its effect on oral health in patients with malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity before performing the cancer treatment.MethodsThis review was carried out via interviews, visual clinical inspection and objective measurement of maximal mouth opening in 35 consecutive patients. Trismus was defined as a maximal mouth opening <35 mm.ResultsTrismus was observed in 15 patients, with a total incidence of 42%. A high rate of tooth loss was recorded, and trismus association with tooth loss was statistically verified using the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, the t-student test and Mann–Whitney non-parametric test. All tests were performed at p < 0.05.ConclusionEdentulous patients are eight times more likely to have trismus compared to patients that are partially and fully dentate. Trismus was demonstrated to be correlated with tooth loss; however other oral health conditions were not shown to be a modifying factor.