Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a meeting place for medicine and dentistry.

: The hyperbaric medicine facility at Hennepin County Medical Center has been serving patients from throughout the region for more than 40 years. Some of these patients have head and neck cancer and are suffering delayed complications of radiation therapy. Such patients are often referred by dentists, oral surgeons, and otolaryngologists. This article summarizes outcomes for patients who have received hyperbaric oxygen therapy for 3 conditions: soft-tissue radiation injury before undergoing dental extractions, osteoradionecrosis, and soft-tissue radiation injury prior to receiving dental implants in the irradiated area.