Table 4. Dental hygienists’ responses concerning their knowledge of breast cancer patient care and anti-estrogen cancer treatments.
| Patient Care | Strongly Agree/ Agree n (%) |
Neutral n (%) |
Strongly Disagree/ Disagree n (%) |
Don’t Know n(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultation with an oncologist concerning a breast cancer patient’s white blood (neutropenia) cell count should be done prior to dental appointments to avoid potential dental infections. |
180 (56%) |
27 (8%) |
33 (10%) |
83 (26%) |
| Breast cancer patients should avoid having blood pressure measurements taken on side where lymph nodes were removed. |
177 (55%) |
16 (5%) |
36 (11%) |
93 (29%) |
| Breast cancer patients may develop breast cancer related metastases as radiolucent areas in the mandible or maxilla. |
80 (25%) |
27 (8%) |
15 (5%) |
198 (62%) |
| Breast cancer patients need to be pre- medicated prior to dental treatment while having a port for chemotherapy. |
66 (20%) |
14 (4%) |
129 (40%) |
113 (36%) |
| Anti-estrogen Therapy | ||||
| The current anti-estrogen therapy for premenopausal women with estrogen receptor + breast cancer is Tamoxifen. |
69 (21%) |
28 (9%) |
19 (6%) |
207 (64%) |
| The current anti-estrogen therapy for postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor + breast cancer is Tamoxifen and/or aromatase inhibitors. |
66 (21%) |
22 (7%) |
10 (3%) |
224 (70%) |
| Breast cancer patients may report increased musculoskeletal pain including decreased grip strength while on aromatase inhibitor drugs. |
59 (18%) |
24 (8%) |
3 (1%) |
235 (73%) |
| Aromatase inhibitors given to breast cancer patients act by severely decreasing anti- estrogen activity. |
42 (13%) |
13 (4%) |
9 (3%) |
257 (80%) |
| Bisphosphonate Use | ||||
| Bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel) are commonly prescribed for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. |
251 (81%) |
13 (4%) |
37 (12) |
22 (7%) |
| Bisphosphonates are commonly prescribed to women prior/while using aromatase inhibitors. |
45 (14%) |
21 (7%) |
6 (2%) |
249 (77%) |