Teeth

[candyapplegrey]

Yesterday, I bit on a piece of raw broccoli and felt really sharp pain in my gum. Went to work with a floss harp. I could feel something jagged, pulled at it, and half my tooth came out.

I must admit, that after chemo, I thought I no longer needed to bother with the salt water gargles and such but use a mouthwash after brushing.

I only had 4 chemo sessions - could it really be the cause?

Candy x

[27-359]

It could be nothing to do with chemo. I had dental issues long before treatment.

Jenny

[Neona]

My teeth kept falling apart after I had chemo. My dentist said chemo not the cause but I’m not so sure.

[Cropcrop]

I’ve been in this forum for around 6 years now and this is a topic we address on a fairly regular basis so given this I personally don’t think we could discount it. My teeth were affected after all the treatments were finished. My dentist wouldn’t be pinned down as to whether it was as a result of the chemo but he did say it certainly wouldn’t have helped whilst he happily extracted 4 teeth 😬🤔. I suppose there are so many side effects from the various chemotherapies (and we all respond differently) that it would be difficult to say one way or another. I hope you don’t experience too many broken teeth and your chemo does it’s job for you. Take care and stay safe ❤️xx Jane

[Mund2121]

I only had one session of chemotherapy, shortly afterwards one of my teeth broke in half , my dentist advised it could well have been down to the chemotherapy treatment.

[bamboo89]

I keep meaning to do some research on this - I had 5 carboplatin treatments last year, and whilst my teeth have always been a bit difficult (and I am old at 70), I had to have 3 extracted afterwards, and this year, one of my bigger teeth at the back literally started crumbling. I did notice a lot of gum recession during and after chemo - that's what made one of the teeth that had to be extracted loose. I also discovered a month ago that I now have osteoporosis, when it was just osteopaenia prior to chemo... I am wondering if some de-mineralisation is caused by chemo, which speeds up any existing problems in our teeth and bones, particularly if we are older. I mentioned it to the dentist, and she just said chemotherapy does no favours at all to teeth, not least because of gum recession, but otherwise said little.

Thing is, we know chemo can't be good for our bodies, but it's necessary to deal with the cancer and/or give us more time, so its the price we pay I guess. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were treatments that actually just targeted the cancer and didn't damage the rest of the body...

Miriam

[candyapplegrey]

thanks,-everyone.-i-had-no-dental-issues-before-this.-in-my-50s.-so-i-think-chemo-is-behind-it.-if-drs-could-admit-it,-could-they-advise-us-how-to-prevent-it.--c--xx

[Eriksendi]

I had no dental issues prior to chemo and have lost 2 teeth since . I now need one possibly two implants but at £3000 a tooth can’t afford it. No nhs dentists where I live!

[candyapplegrey]

i'm thinking that if they acknowledge it's caused by chemo treatment, they might have to think about free dental treatment for cancer/chemo patients. that's so bad that there aren't any nhs dentists near you. would it be worth enrolling in one further afield?

[rosebine]

According to the media, there is a waiting list of 3 years to see some NHS dentists ! Really comforting news

[candyapplegrey in reply to rosebine]

got-to-say-i-was-really-lucky,-got-an-appointment-within-days,-told-tooth-had-broken-in-the-right-way-so-they-did-filling-without-drilling-or-injections.--👍