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Do you use a custom wax tongue immobilizer for oral cavity radiotherapy?

If so, how do you address the Joint Commission's cleaning requirements? The Joint Commission recently inspected our hospital including the radiation oncology department. We have used custom wax tongue immobilizers for many years for HNSCC of the oral tongue or palate. Because the wax manufacturer does not provide cleaning instructions (it's sold as one-time use), the Joint Commission said we can no longer used custom wax tongue immobilizers.
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Radiation Oncology · University of Michigan
Answered on

We have not used a device which aimed primarily to immobilize the tongue. Rather, we use a customized device (“radiation guards”) which primarily aims to reduce backscatter from metal fillings or crowns in the teeth into the surrounding gums and adjacent tongue. This device has been described by Ben...

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Radiation Oncology · UT Southwestern School of Medicine
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We use a custom oral stent for oral cavity patients. The core of the bite block is styrofoam (https://www.rpdinc.com/adult-bite-wedge-886.html) but we cover it in a fine layer of aquaplast. We are very pleased with this approach. First, the aquaplast is cleanable, so there are no issues with sterili...

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Radiation Oncology · UCSF Medical Center
Answered on · Updated on

We use sterilizable plastic devices.

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Radiation Oncology · University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
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We use a variety of intraoral devices ranging from simple Civco biteblocks to custom stents that are initially wax and then converted to a more permanent Lucite pattern. We also have recently been using Bionix Truguard, and there is an ongoing program for using 3d printed devices with the stents mad...

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