Association Between Post-radiotherapy Salivary Dysfunction and Patient-Reported Satisfaction With Removable Dental Prostheses Among Oral Cancer Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Introduction: Radiotherapy for oral cancer may cause persistent salivary dysfunction, potentially compromising the comfort and functional performance of removable dental prostheses.This study aimed to evaluate the association between post-radiotherapy salivary dysfunction and patient-reported satisfaction with removable dental prostheses among oral cancer survivors, with particular emphasis on overall prosthetic satisfaction and specific functional domains, including comfort, retention, and stability, chewing, speech, and appearance.Materials and methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional observational study included 100 clinically disease-free oral cancer survivors who had completed curative-intent radiotherapy and were using removable complete or partial dental prostheses.Subjective xerostomia was assessed using an 11-item questionnaire (Xerostomia Inventory score), while objective salivary function was evaluated using the unstimulated whole salivary flow rate.Overall prosthetic satisfaction was assessed using an 11-point numeric rating scale, with additional assessments of comfort, retention/stability, chewing ability, speech, and appearance.Associations between salivary measures and prosthetic satisfaction were evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation, with appropriate nonparametric and categorical tests used for group comparisons.Results: Among the 100 participants, the mean age was 59.1 ± 8.7 years, with 61 (61.0%) males and 39 (39.0%) females.The mean unstimulated salivary flow rate was 0.31 ± 0.09 mL/min, and the mean Xerostomia Inventory score was 29.7 ± 5.6.The mean overall prosthetic satisfaction was 6.91 ± 1.27.Higher xerostomia was associated with lower salivary flow (ρ = -0.762,p < 0.001) and lower overall prosthetic satisfaction (ρ = -0.680,p < 0.001), whereas higher salivary flow was associated with greater satisfaction (ρ = 0.690, p < 0.001).All prosthetic satisfaction domains showed significant inverse correlations with xerostomia (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Post-radiotherapy salivary dysfunction was strongly associated with reduced patient-reported satisfaction with the removable dental prostheses.Routine assessment of both subjective xerostomia and objective salivary function may help identify patients requiring individualized prosthetic planning and supportive management after oral cancer treatment.