Should the HPV positive oropharyngeal cancer patient be considered for a two-stage dental assessment for their radiation treatment?

Patients due to commence head and neck radiation treatment are expected to undergo a dental assess-ment and be deemed 'dentally fit'. Though this intervention is welcomed by the dental fraternity it is not without its challenges especially in human papilloma virus (HPV) related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) which has seen a phenomenal rise over the past decade. This perspective piece presents these chal-lenges and proposes a potential adaption of the dental assessment for HPV OPC patients though not nec-essarily exclusive to this tumour sub-site. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Radiotherapy and Oncology 164 (2021) 232-235