Maintaining enamel hardness is a concern when patients undergo radiation therapy. Researchers wanted to see if natural compounds such as coconut oil, vitamin E oil, and curcumin helped during after-cancer treatment.
Using natural sources to combat the side effects of radiation therapy may become a significant milestone in postcancer treatment, they noted in BDJ Open (July 11, 2019). They tested three compounds and measured their ability to protect tooth integrity.
Radiotherapy is a widely used treatment for head and neck and oral cancers. However, this radiation treatment eventually reduces the wear resistance property of enamel, which may lead to caries and other issues.
The researchers wanted to find out how well enamel resisted this radiation while also analyzing the protective effects of three natural compounds. For their study, they divided 36 healthy extracted human molars into four equal groups, a control group and three groups treated with an organic compound, and exposed the teeth to 70 Gy of radiation.
The organic compounds are listed below:
- Coconut oil
- Curcumin
- Vitamin E capsules
Researchers tested the enamel samples before and after the radiation treatment.
The organic compounds were capable of protecting the enamel at all study intervals (see table below), they found. The test group compounds successfully maintained the nearly stable mineral content ratio during and after radiation therapy.
| The carbonate-to-mineral ratio of tooth enamel before and at various radiation intervals | ||||
| Radiation dosage (Gy) |
Radiation control group (n = 6) |
Coconut oil group (n = 6) |
Curcumin group (n = 6) |
Vitamin oil group (n = 6) |
| 0 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 |
| 42 | 1.48 ± 0.05 | 1.44 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.48 ± 0.05 |
| 49 | 1.48 ± 0.05 | 1.45 ± 0.05 | 1.44 ± 0.05 | 1.45 ± 0.05 |
| 56 | 1.48 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.45 ± 0.05 | 1.45 ± 0.05 |
| 63 | 1.50 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.44 ± 0.05 | 1.47 ± 0.05 |
| 70 | 1.52 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.46 ± 0.05 | 1.47 ± 0.05 |
The authors acknowledged this was an in vitro study but otherwise listed no limitations.
While more research on this topic is needed, these natural substances should be considered for use, they noted.
"These natural substances should emerge as a topical applicator during radiotherapy to oral cancer patients," wrote the authors, led by Mithra Hegde, BDS, MDS, PhD, from the department of conservative dentistry and endodontics at the A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences in Mangaluru, India.
