Dental work??

smokeyjoe

K....sooo, I broke a tooth, back one, from time to time it's hurting like heck....think it's a combo of xeloda and a broken tooth...but....can you have dental work done while on this chemo. and I'm on blood thinners....today hurting thinking gotta have it just pulled...but with the chemo and blood thinner combo. not such a simple let's get her done thing to book. Is there a wait time you have to go off chemo. to have a procedure done??

Maxiecat

I don't have an answer for
I don't have an answer for you but ..... Ouch!

Alex

janie1

Maxiecat said:

I don't have an answer for
I don't have an answer for you but ..... Ouch!

Alex

Hi Smokey, If there is some
Hi Smokey,

If there is some tooth structure left, it's possible they could put a temporary crown on without too much trouble. That would just buy some time until something more permanent could be done.
The temp crown would protect anything that is exposed, and many times those are put on before a permanent crown, to give the tooth time to calm down. Putting on a temp crown is pretty easy. It's not like a permanent one, where everything has to be perfect
.
If there isn't much tooth structure, and extraction is the only thing to do.....i don't know about the blood thinners.
Anyway, is there anywhere you could go soon to have it fixed? Having pain for very long isn't good for saving the tooth.

luvinlife2

I think Xeloda may be ok
but check with your Dr. first. Your bloodwork should be well within the normal range. I would think if your counts are too low then it's too much of a risk to take. My back teeth broke as well but I'm on Avastin and have to wait at least 6-8 weeks before any dental work.

steveandnat

need dr approval
I was told any dental work needed Dr approval. My dentist didn't want anything to do with me because of the risk of bleeding and infection. But there are times like yours you have to go. There may dentist with morecexperience dealing cancer patients. Praying for you that you get it taken care of soon. Jeff

herdizziness

Xeloda
I was able to get teeth work done on just Xeloda as that did not make a difference. HOWEVER, for dental work when you are on Avastin or blood thinners, you need to inform your dentist that does the work so that they are aware, and ask your onc as well (mine told me to ask the dentist, but recommended I not be on blood thinners when getting a root canal, ordinary fillings were okay).
Hope this helps.
Winter Marie

Brenda Bricco

My husband had dental work
My husband had dental work as he was getting 5fu... the onc said he was fine to do so (of course talk to your doc). He did take anibiotics before the work and after.

Doc_Hawk

Open wide
Chemo has caused me to have some dental problems and I needed an extraction about six months after my dx. I had to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before the work. You do need to let your dentist know that you're a cancer patient so they can take any necessary precautions. My onc had to fax over some blood work before my extraction.

JayhawkDan

I recently had a broken
I recently had a broken molar that needed a cap. It had to be ground down and that's not as invasive as an extraction, but I scheduled it for a day after a check of my WBC, to make sure it was ok. The dentist knew about my condition. Anyway, it all went well.

As an aside, that ended up kind of humorous -- I had a temporary cap for a week or so while the permanent one was being made. It didn't fit that great and I was eating a sandwich at lunch on a Saturday and, even though I thought I was being careful, all of a sudden I realized it was gone. No cap. I looked all around, even looked on the floor, and realized that I obviously swallowed the damn thing! So, I've got this hunk of metal that's going to be passing by a rectal tumor in a few hours, which didn't sound like a great idea. Anyway, I called my doctor's office and my oncologist called me back and said it would probably be fine, just let them know if I had any pain or problems. Never noticed anything, so all's well that ends well. And my "end" had no problems. But I felt like an idiot!

Doc_Hawk

JayhawkDan said:

I recently had a broken
I recently had a broken molar that needed a cap. It had to be ground down and that's not as invasive as an extraction, but I scheduled it for a day after a check of my WBC, to make sure it was ok. The dentist knew about my condition. Anyway, it all went well.

As an aside, that ended up kind of humorous -- I had a temporary cap for a week or so while the permanent one was being made. It didn't fit that great and I was eating a sandwich at lunch on a Saturday and, even though I thought I was being careful, all of a sudden I realized it was gone. No cap. I looked all around, even looked on the floor, and realized that I obviously swallowed the damn thing! So, I've got this hunk of metal that's going to be passing by a rectal tumor in a few hours, which didn't sound like a great idea. Anyway, I called my doctor's office and my oncologist called me back and said it would probably be fine, just let them know if I had any pain or problems. Never noticed anything, so all's well that ends well. And my "end" had no problems. But I felt like an idiot!

Pun intended
That sounds like it'll be a real bite in the @$$!

JayhawkDan

Doc_Hawk said:

Pun intended
That sounds like it'll be a real bite in the @$$!

Ha-ha...
That's what I was afraid of . . . But I guess I dodged the bullet. Sometimes life comes back to bite you in the ****, but I got a pass this time. My dentist got a big kick out of it, though.

k44454445

check with oncologist
i am a dental hygienist & before i work on someone in active tx, i always call the oncologist to make sure the blood work is ok for dental procedures. i had a pt who insisted it was ok but i told him i was still going to call. as it turns out his wbc was so low, the oncologist said he would prob die from infection from the normal germs in his mouth getting stirred up from his cleaning. that would have made me feel real bad!!! sometimes the platelet count is borderline & the pt is advised to wait. sometimes bleeding from chemo meds presents a problem. some oncologists insist on blood work 24 hrs before the appt. the best thing to do is to call your oncologist & to not make the decision on your own & do not let the dental office decide. you would be surprised at how many dentists & dental hygienists are not aware of the importance of checking with the oncologist. hope it is ok for you to get the work done. also with it hurting, if your oncologist gives you a thumbs up, you would be considered an emergency dental pt & should be able to be seen that day for at least an evaluation & some type of tx to get you out of pain.
one word of advise-do not go to urgent care dental clinics bc they work on commision & have certain money goals they have to reach so over treatment is common.
if you have any questions just let me know
goodluck!
judy

JayhawkDan

One other thing...
on the dental front. While I was going through my "re-cap" my dentist mentioned to watch sugary foods and candies, because my teeth are somewhat compromised anyway, due to the chemo. With the "metalicky" taste in my mouth, I told him my oncology team recommended having candies around, and that they have jars of them all around the cancer center. He about had a cow! He said that's a horrible thing to do and said he was going to send the hospital a letter that they should switch to sugar-free varieties. So I switched immediately to sugar free. Btw, Werther's has some really good sugar free flavors.

Coppercent

Cleaning
Not sure about major dental work but I know I had my teach cleaned while on Folfox. However, my dentist called my oncologist to inquire about my health status. He said I was fine to have the cleaning.