more teeth/jaw bone and saliva questions

susan0803
susan0803 Member Posts: 90
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I posted this on a different thread with no responses so I thought I would start a new thread with my questions. Thanks if anyone has advice, two cents or otherwise!

Help with protecting Teeth:
Has anyone tried Trident Extra Care with Recaldent? Does anyone know of any known issues/toxicity of chewing gum with Recaldent (casein phosphopeptide ) which is the same ingredient that is in the GC Mousse. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recaldent)


Saliva:
Joe has a little saliva after rads, and I think is able get a little more saliva by chewing Biotene Gum (and the other Biotene products everyone here mentions). He also sucks on sugar free lemon drops recommended by his rad onc nurse. (Joe did not have the Amifstone since Sloan would not give it to him.)

Has anyone had luck increasing saliva with other methods - post treatment?

It sounds like in some people on this board, saliva comes back? How long does that take?

Two last questions:
Are there tests to test how much saliva Joe has? Is this something the ENT surgeon does?

Is there a test to see how much jaw/bone damage he had from the rads? Or could it be 2+ years down the road that his teeth start having more issues? Or maybe this is impossible to tell? Just would like to hear other people's experience that are 2+ years post treatment.

THANKS!
Suzanne

Comments

  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #2
    A few answers
    I can answer a few from my experiences....

    First is the standard....everyone is different and nothing is guaranteed,

    I did have Amifostine.

    I lost all of my saliva for several months. I do have most back now after nearly 20+ months. Maybe 100% during the day, and around 75-80% while sleeping...

    As for radiation and jaw bone damage. More than likely they can determine blood flow by X-Rays, not sure actually.

    I think that will probably be dictated over time.

    Best,
    John
  • davidgskinner
    davidgskinner Member Posts: 81
    #3
    Skiffin16 said:

    A few answers
    I can answer a few from my experiences....

    First is the standard....everyone is different and nothing is guaranteed,

    I did have Amifostine.

    I lost all of my saliva for several months. I do have most back now after nearly 20+ months. Maybe 100% during the day, and around 75-80% while sleeping...

    As for radiation and jaw bone damage. More than likely they can determine blood flow by X-Rays, not sure actually.

    I think that will probably be dictated over time.

    Best,
    John

    gum!
    For me, one thing that really seems to help during the day is chewing gum. The Trident sugarless gums with Xylitol seem to be best for me. I read somewhere that Xylitol is supposed to stimulate saliva flow. And as the taste buds come back it's nice to get little bits of flavor...
    I am about 10 months past radiation and chemo and have about 75% of my saliva back. It seems better during the day, worse at night, and always worse in the back of my mouth/throat. It is coming back steadily, I think.
    As far as jaw and teeth-so far so good. I am crossing my fingers.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #4
    Answers.
    As far as the GC the Recaldent in it, I just got it from my dentist starting last month, so I cannot comment about how it works yet. The tube says:

    GC MI Paste Plus. Topical creme with calcium phosphate and fluoride.
    Sodium Fluroride 900ppm. I think this might be the US version of Scam's GC Mousse, but I'm not sure. My dentist has been giving it to me for free.

    As far as saliva goes, I would be interested to know if there is a test to measure also. I cannot tolerate chewing gum or sucking on hard candy. It hurts really bad. I have gotten a teeny tiny bit of saliva back since rads 21 months ago, but since I am missing my left one I don't hold out much hope for me. My RO had prescribed me salagen I think it was. I put it thru my peg tube 3x a day. It did not give me any extra saliva. It did however make the backs of my hands drip with sweat. For a while I also sweat while I ate. I think it was my bodies way of salivating without the submandibular gland there. Lol. Some people have good luck with the pills.

    As far as teeth and jawbone go, you can clearly see on my X-rays the difference between the jawbone that got a lot of radiation (toward the back) and the healthier jawbone. I don't know what I was looking at as far as X-rays go, but it is clearly visible. If he has low saliva then yes, 2+ years down the road can have problems with the teeth.
  • Scambuster
    Scambuster Member Posts: 973
    #5
    sweetblood22 said:

    Answers.
    As far as the GC the Recaldent in it, I just got it from my dentist starting last month, so I cannot comment about how it works yet. The tube says:

    GC MI Paste Plus. Topical creme with calcium phosphate and fluoride.
    Sodium Fluroride 900ppm. I think this might be the US version of Scam's GC Mousse, but I'm not sure. My dentist has been giving it to me for free.

    As far as saliva goes, I would be interested to know if there is a test to measure also. I cannot tolerate chewing gum or sucking on hard candy. It hurts really bad. I have gotten a teeny tiny bit of saliva back since rads 21 months ago, but since I am missing my left one I don't hold out much hope for me. My RO had prescribed me salagen I think it was. I put it thru my peg tube 3x a day. It did not give me any extra saliva. It did however make the backs of my hands drip with sweat. For a while I also sweat while I ate. I think it was my bodies way of salivating without the submandibular gland there. Lol. Some people have good luck with the pills.

    As far as teeth and jawbone go, you can clearly see on my X-rays the difference between the jawbone that got a lot of radiation (toward the back) and the healthier jawbone. I don't know what I was looking at as far as X-rays go, but it is clearly visible. If he has low saliva then yes, 2+ years down the road can have problems with the teeth.

    Acupuncture
    I had acupuncture for several months to stimulate Saliva. I am back to about 15 - 20% now an it hasn't changed much in several months but that is enough to get me through the days just fine. I still suffer at night.

    It is hard to say 100% the acupuncture did it but I do think it helped me. Some people have great results, others none at all.

    I use the sugar free little mints called 'Eclipse' and they really help.

    Scam
  • RushFan
    RushFan Member Posts: 224
    #6
    I'm almost 10 months post
    I'm almost 10 months post treatment of 35 rads and seven once weekly Cisplatin infusions. Here's my experiences so far:

    Concerning teeth: I use an RX toothpaste by Cypress Pharmaceutical and Colgate Prevident 5000 (prescription also) for my dental trays. I've had three exams and no problems with my teeth...so far.

    Concerning saliva: I'm about 40% back to normal...and it's still not so great for eating, but makes a difference during the day. I still use the Stoppers4, during the day and several times at night. I asked my surgical onc about Salagen and she recommeded Evoxac instead. I tried it for a six week course and I think it helped a little. I have been off of it for 10 days or so and have decided to get a refill and keep on it. Have not heard of a test, but will asked when I have my next check-up in April.

    Best to all here.
    Chuck.
  • wifeforlife
    wifeforlife Member Posts: 189
    #7
    RushFan said:

    I'm almost 10 months post
    I'm almost 10 months post treatment of 35 rads and seven once weekly Cisplatin infusions. Here's my experiences so far:

    Concerning teeth: I use an RX toothpaste by Cypress Pharmaceutical and Colgate Prevident 5000 (prescription also) for my dental trays. I've had three exams and no problems with my teeth...so far.

    Concerning saliva: I'm about 40% back to normal...and it's still not so great for eating, but makes a difference during the day. I still use the Stoppers4, during the day and several times at night. I asked my surgical onc about Salagen and she recommeded Evoxac instead. I tried it for a six week course and I think it helped a little. I have been off of it for 10 days or so and have decided to get a refill and keep on it. Have not heard of a test, but will asked when I have my next check-up in April.

    Best to all here.
    Chuck.

    med you attach to the roof of your mouth
    My husband recently saw a oral surgeon... he mentioned a medication you adhere to the roof of your mouth, it disolves and is suppose to help with saliva for 12 hrs... has anyone heard of this?
    Wife
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #8
    wifeforlife said:

    med you attach to the roof of your mouth
    My husband recently saw a oral surgeon... he mentioned a medication you adhere to the roof of your mouth, it disolves and is suppose to help with saliva for 12 hrs... has anyone heard of this?
    Wife

    Saliva patch.
    Some one just told me about this at church this weekend. I want to check it out for sure.

    http://www.quantumhealth.com/productgroups/dry_mouth_treatment.html

    DRY MOUTH PATCH
  • susan0803
    susan0803 Member Posts: 90
    #9
    sweetblood22 said:

    Saliva patch.
    Some one just told me about this at church this weekend. I want to check it out for sure.

    http://www.quantumhealth.com/productgroups/dry_mouth_treatment.html

    DRY MOUTH PATCH

    thanks!
    Hi Everyone,
    Thanks much for the advice, tips and your experiences! I think I will have Joe try out the OraMist dry mouth patch as part of his arsenal against future teeth damage from lack of saliva.

    I asked my dentist today if there was a saliva test. She didn't know of anything. She did say that all of the products that keep the mouth moist so that food does not stick to them, is good, even if the moisture doesn't have all of the natural good properties that saliva does. She said the GCMousse and Trident with recaladent is good too to help strengthen the teeth. She would even sell us the GCMousse in the future. (She said it would be good for me too as my teeth get more brittle as I age.)

    We have a visit with the ENT today, so if he has any additional information on this for me, I'll post it later.

    Seetblood,
    I'm sorry to hear that your mouth is still so sore. I wish there was something that could help you.

    Suzanne

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