TEETH, NEED WORK

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WinneyPooh
WinneyPooh Member Posts: 318
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
hI all
Been absent lateley, lots of back pain, but not what i want to know abou
Does anyone else have teeth that are going bad its like I am a crack addit
getting bad spots at the gum lines and it is happenin fast,

I can't offord to go to the denist and are you allowed to have dental work while on chemo
I really need to do something about this before i loose some teeth?

I brush, use mouthwash several times a day and floss.

I know its the chemo that is doing this, I just need to stop it and have the bad ones wworked on.

Anyone know of a group that donates dental work?

thanks
Penny

Comments

  • dmdwins
    dmdwins Member Posts: 454 Member
    #2
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    Dental Schools
    HI Penny

    Check and see if you have any dental schools/college programs in your area. I believe they do free dental work or atleast greatly reduced cost for the experience. Just a thought....
    chemo can wreck havoc in our mouths so sorry :(

    Dawn
  • PamPam2
    PamPam2 Member Posts: 370 Member
    #3
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    Local health dept
    Our local health dept has dental services, either free or on sliding scale, and really do a good job. One thing I have used is over the counter swish, you mix it with warm water, called Amosan (sp?) I did have some dental cleaning done and filling when on chemo, had no problem. And like above post mentioned, the university/teaching hospitals with dental departments will help also, especially if there is more extensive work needed done, or other medical complications that local health dept is not equipped to deal with. Good luck!
    Pam
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #4
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    Dentist
    My oncologist told me not to have any dental work done while on chemo. Think it stirs up bacteria and chemo causes a decreased immune system. Good luck with getting reduced rates. Never had any major problems but noticed that my gums bleed more than they did before chemo.

    Kim
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #5
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    Dental work....



    The rule had always been, that no dental work is permitted
    while you are on chemo, and not until the chemicals have
    been purged from your body.

    Most dentists will advise you regarding this also, since they
    seem to hate lawsuits.

    The chemotherapy (chemical therapy) kills any cells that are
    growing faster than the cells in the area the cancer has started.

    Since hair cells are among the fastest to grow, we lose hair
    with almost all the chemo drugs. Gum tissue is also a target,
    along with other fast growing tissue. Losing teeth while undergoing
    chemotherapy isn't a rare thing......
    See: Chemo and teeth

    But you've already figured all that out, right?

    The trouble is, that once you start chemo, it's usually not advised
    that you stop before the entire cycle of treatment is finished.

    The idea behind that is this: While taking chemo, your immune
    system is compromised. You are relying on only the chemo to
    kill cancer cells. If you stop the chemo before it has a chance to
    finish the job, you might leave yourself at the peril of cancer growth,
    since your immune system is compromised, and there won't be
    the chemo to do the job....

    I had been advised by two oncologists, that once I started chemo
    I would have to finish it. Any infections I had would have to be cured
    prior to starting, and absolutely no surgical wounds can be unhealed
    prior to chemo. The reasons were stated as I stated in the above paragraph.

    Any dental work had to be done prior to chemo, and there could be
    no unhealed areas of the gum.

    You would be best advised to ask your oncologist about the
    situation, and what he might be able to suggest. He's the chemical
    pro, so he oughta' know how to correct for the side-effects.


    Good luck, ehh?

    John
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    #6
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    John23 said:

    Dental work....



    The rule had always been, that no dental work is permitted
    while you are on chemo, and not until the chemicals have
    been purged from your body.

    Most dentists will advise you regarding this also, since they
    seem to hate lawsuits.

    The chemotherapy (chemical therapy) kills any cells that are
    growing faster than the cells in the area the cancer has started.

    Since hair cells are among the fastest to grow, we lose hair
    with almost all the chemo drugs. Gum tissue is also a target,
    along with other fast growing tissue. Losing teeth while undergoing
    chemotherapy isn't a rare thing......
    See: Chemo and teeth

    But you've already figured all that out, right?

    The trouble is, that once you start chemo, it's usually not advised
    that you stop before the entire cycle of treatment is finished.

    The idea behind that is this: While taking chemo, your immune
    system is compromised. You are relying on only the chemo to
    kill cancer cells. If you stop the chemo before it has a chance to
    finish the job, you might leave yourself at the peril of cancer growth,
    since your immune system is compromised, and there won't be
    the chemo to do the job....

    I had been advised by two oncologists, that once I started chemo
    I would have to finish it. Any infections I had would have to be cured
    prior to starting, and absolutely no surgical wounds can be unhealed
    prior to chemo. The reasons were stated as I stated in the above paragraph.

    Any dental work had to be done prior to chemo, and there could be
    no unhealed areas of the gum.

    You would be best advised to ask your oncologist about the
    situation, and what he might be able to suggest. He's the chemical
    pro, so he oughta' know how to correct for the side-effects.


    Good luck, ehh?

    John

    Chemo teeth
    I asked my Onc about going to the dentist. She says not unless I have a bad toothache.No cleaning either until off of chemo. I am afraid that my teeth will NEVER be the same.

    I'd advise anyone to get a good cleaning and any dental work needed prior to stating chemo if they can. I couldn't...I went straight from doctor's office to surgeons office to hospital bed all within a few hours.
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    #7
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    Hi Penny,
    I needed some
    Hi Penny,

    I needed some dental work done (a filling repair + a root canal repair) while on chemo. I asked my oncologist about having the work done + she OKayed the filling repair but wanted to talk directly to the dentist to see what EXACTLY he wanted to do when it came to the root canal repair. So the dentist called the oncologist, he got her input + did a modification of what he would do if I wasn't on chemo. He also wanted me to use a special paste to help strengthen my teeth + my onc said this was ok for me . It is called MI paste, + the dentist had trays made similar to the ones used for teeth whitening. You put the paste in the trays + soak the teeth for 10 minutes 2X/day. I am in Canada; I don't know if you would have the same product in the US, but I am sure at least there would be something similar. For any dental work, I would always check with the oncologist first. Mine doesn't want any procedures done on me where bleeding could occur. I want to wish you luck in finding the care you need for your teeth.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #8
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #9
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    unknown said:

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  • KATE58
    KATE58 Member Posts: 299
    #10
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    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    it seems lately they are
    it seems lately they are finding the health of your teeth has an
    effect on the health of your whole body.
    my teeth got bad before I started chemo because of malnutrition.
    I needed to get my 4 front teeth -root canal and caps.I also had no money or dental ins.
    about a year later my church informed me that some one had anonamously offered to pay for all my dental work.(thank you whoever you are and thank you God for putting you in my life.)
    we have a small country church and congregation,so it was someone who knows me well.
    My doctor stopped my chemo for 3 weeks and then I had my root canals done and temp caps.after about 10 days to heal I was back on chemo. needed no break for permenant caps to be installed.My onc said a month off would not really cause damage ( that's me, ask your onc about you ) that was three years ago and been on chemo the whole time -no more teeth problems.
    I do remember my dentist and onc having a conversation.
    Talk to your oncologist and see what he/she thinks.
    they have to be careful because dental work if you are immune suppressed can cause infections in the heart ( don't know why )

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