A new path to dental care for cancer patients

Colleagues of Abramson Cancer Center oncology nurse navigator Margaret "Peg" Rummel nicknamed her "the Tooth Fairy." That's because she had collected so many resources to get head and neck cancer patients the dental care they needed before they would be cleared to start radiation.

Now, thanks to a collaboration with fellow oncology nurse navigator Jen Jacobs and Penn's School of Dental Medicine, what was once a single person's bespoke effort to help patients individually has grown into a seamless path for patients to get needed care.

To be cleared for radiation therapy to the head and neck area, patients must first undergo a dental exam and take care of any cavities, extractions, root canals, or other needed dental work, because "you don't want to start radiation and then have to stop it for a dental issue, and delay care," Rummel says.

Until recently, Rummel faced countless barriers finding dentists who could provide timely pre-treatment dental care for cancer patients. Many patients-especially those of low socioeconomic status-had gone without dental visits for years and now needed extensive dental work.

Over several months, Jacobs and Rummel met with leaders from Penn Dental Medicine to create a system for cancer patients to receive expedited care by dental residents. Their dedicated efforts reflect Penn Medicine's strategic emphasison making care easy for patients and putting it within reach.

Now, when a navigator calls Penn Dental Medicine on a patient's behalf, "I guarantee that we can get that patient an appointment for an initial examination as quickly as possible," says Marc Henschel, director of the Advanced Education General Dentistry program at Penn Dental Medicine, who oversees the residents.

Henschel and his colleagues inherently understood the need for expedited dental care for this demographic while also having the expertise and comfort with medically complex patients. It was the perfect partnership.

"This is a cohort of patients that really needs to have dentistry completed in a timely fashion prior to their oncology therapies," says Henschel. "We're willing to help where and when we can."

This story is by Daphne Sashin. Read more at Penn Medicine News.