Dental care

MarineE5 said:

Great Topic for many of us

ERomanO, 

I was told that I would need to do daily Fluoride treatments for the rest of my life if I wished to keep the teeth I had at the time of my cancer in 2004. Base of Tongue cancer, Surgery to remove part of my tongue, Radical Neck Disection followed by 30 Radiation treatments that left me with no Saliva what-so-ever. 

I was instructed to use the Fluoride Trays that cost $400 at the time. I did so each day and found it was troublesome at times as I tried to have a set time to do it. I later learned to just do it once a day just before taking a shower. Let the trays sit for 10 minutes in my mouth while showering, remove when done and let the Fluoride sit on my teeth for another 30 minutes before rinsing. I did this for 5 years using the trays. The Dentist moved on and at the same time, I started using the VA Hospital's Dental Department. 

VA Dentist took me off of the Fluoride that the original Dentist had me use because it made my teeth very brown looking. I forget the name of the Fluoride at this time. I was given Colgate Previ-Dent, Fresh Mint and told to brush the Gel on after brushing my teeth. Let the Fluoride sit for the 30 minutes and rinse like before. It has been 16 years now and I seldom miss a daily routine. I did have 2 teeth break on me and that was my fault basically. I ate something hard and they cracked, the VA Dentist then capped them so I got lucky there. I also over time had maybe 2 or 3 tiny cavities over these years. I know we are supposed to stay away from sugar, etc. But I am making up for lost time of not tasting chocolate . 

I looked at the price of the 1.1 % Fluoride. If you use "Good Rx" Coupons, you can get it for roughly $10 or less at you local Drug Stores. I am lucky as the VA sends it to me. As Russ mentoned, a little goes a long way, I use about a pea sized dab on my tooth brush to coat my teeth.

You brought up a good question about the amount of saliva each person may regain and how the Fluoride may not be needed as much. The VA Dentist told me the patients receiving Radiation and not having good saliva can get a cavity(s) in about 6 weeks. A normal person with saliva not taking care of their teeth will get a cavity generally after 6 months. I hope to keep the teeth I have and do not want to do the Hyper-Baric chamber dives if I can help it. 

My Best to You and Everyone Here

Thanks for bringing up GoodRx.  I will look into that.

AnotherSurvivor said:

I also use the prescribed gel

I also use the prescribed gel, but my dentist is also a cancer vet, and very aware of my situation.  She does a full floride treatment thingy on mine every six months.    After five years post, certified this month, I show no signs of enamel decay.  I have light-to-moderate drymouth, depending on the day.  The main change I have done is avoiding processed sugars.  No sugared gum, no mints, etc.  During the day it's Xylimelts, period.

I stay away from sweets, but anytime I do indulge a little I make sure to brush and floss as soon as possible afterwards.  I use Xylimelts, too, and use the ones with a light mint flavor.  The downside is that the mint flavor can irritate the gums if you tend to place them in the same spot.  Hopwever, my dentist said that positive effect is worth the irritation.