Improving Dental Care for Patients With Head and Neck Tumors (OncoDent)

January 13, 2026 updated by: Felix Marschner, University Medical Center Goettingen

A Simulation Experiment to Improve Dental Care for Patients With Head and Neck Tumors

This prospective survey study investigates knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and practices related to dental care in patients with head and neck cancer among affected patients and dentists. Participants complete an anonymous online questionnaire before and after receiving written, guideline-based information. The study aims to evaluate whether targeted educational materials improve knowledge and perceptions regarding dental care in the context of head and neck cancer treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is a prospective survey-based study using a pre-post design. Patients with head and neck cancer and practicing dentists are invited to participate. Patient recruitment is carried out through existing self-help networks and direct personal contact. National and regional self-help groups for head and neck cancer patients are contacted and asked to disseminate information about the study, including a study information sheet and a QR code linking to the online questionnaire, via their communication channels. Dentists receive an invitation letter containing the QR code to the online questionnaire by postal mail.

Participation in the study is voluntary and anonymous. By completing the online questionnaire, participants provide informed consent to participate. Due to the anonymous nature of data collection, withdrawal from the study is no longer possible after submission of the questionnaire. The survey is conducted in accordance with the data protection requirements of the Data Protection Officer of University Medical Center Göttingen, and participants are informed accordingly.

All participants initially complete a baseline questionnaire (pre-assessment) collecting demographic data as well as information on knowledge, behavior, attitudes, and experiences related to dental care for patients with head and neck cancer. Subsequently, a written educational intervention is provided. For patients, this consists of concise summaries of patient guidelines on oral cavity cancer, pharyngeal cancer, and supportive care. For dentists, the intervention includes concise summaries of relevant S3 clinical practice guidelines covering diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and follow-up of laryngeal cancer, oro- and hypopharyngeal cancer, oral cavity cancer, implant-based oral rehabilitation after head and neck radiotherapy, and supportive care in oncology.

The survey for each participant group (patients and dentists) is conducted as a single, continuous, and structured session. After accessing the educational intervention, participants are no longer able to modify their responses to the pre-assessment questionnaire. A second questionnaire with identical content is then completed (post-assessment). The effect of the educational intervention is evaluated by calculating the change (Δ) between pre- and post-assessment values.

The development of the educational interventions was informed by findings from a preceding qualitative interview study involving dentists, otolaryngologists, radiation oncologists, and patients with head and neck cancer.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

132

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 18 years or older with head and neck cancer whose health status allows completion of a questionnaire
  • Practicing dentists in Germany registered in the OAK-Verlag address database

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lack of consent to participate
  • Insufficient German language skills that prevent completion of the questionnaire

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Patients With Head and Neck Cancer/Dentists - Educational Information Intervention
Patients with head and neck cancer and practicing dentists in Germany participate in an anonymous, prospective pre-post survey study.
Other: Educational material,
Patients with head and neck cancer and practicing dentists in Germany participate in an anonymous, prospective pre-post survey study. Both groups complete a baseline questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics as well as knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and decision-making related to dental care in the context of head and neck cancer treatment. Following the baseline assessment, participants receive group-specific, guideline-based written educational information. After reviewing the educational material, participants complete a post-intervention questionnaire with identical content. The effect of the educational intervention is evaluated by comparing pre- and post-assessment responses within each group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change From Baseline in Knowledge and Decision-Making Regarding Dental Care, Assessed by a Self-Administered Questionnaire (Percentage of Correct Responses)
Time Frame: Immediately after completion of the educational intervention (single study visit)
Study outcomes are defined as the effects of the interventions measured using a self-administered questionnaire. Questionnaire responses are summarized as a percentage score ranging from 0% to 100%, with 100% indicating all responses answered correctly. For each research question, outcomes are calculated as the change (Δ) in percentage scores between pre-intervention (baseline) and post-intervention assessments.
Immediately after completion of the educational intervention (single study visit)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University Medical Center Goettingen

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 19, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 3, 2026

First Posted (Estimated)

January 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 13, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 15/11/25

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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