Luckily I had a dental cleaning scheduled just before I started my first chemotherapy treatment and my dentist gave me a lot of great advice on how to take care of my gums and teeth during chemotherapy treatment.
He recommended a prescription strength fluoride toothpaste to protect my teeth while I went through chemotherapy. He was able to prescribe and give to me while I was in the office, it was called PreviDent 5000 Plus by Colgate. And it sure did the trick! Ask you dentist about it.
He also explained that chemotherapy can be very hard on our teeth and gums especially due to many of the chemotherapy drugs causing dry mouth. Dry mouth can lead to a host of dental problems. We need to have sufficient saliva in our mouths to wash away food debris and reduce plaque, which is why severe gum disease can occur if dry mouth is left untreated.
Fortunately, there are many things you can do to treat dry mouth and improve dental health including:
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- Chewing sugar free gum or sucking on sugar free candy or mints. This will help fight dry mouth and protect your gums by stimulating saliva production. My favorite gum. I went through many, many packs of gum!
- Brush teeth twice a day and floss teeth daily. Use a fluoride toothpaste! Good oral hygiene will prevent the buildup of plaque, which promotes tooth decay and gum disease. I used this sensitive toothpaste during my cancer treatment as I found my teeth and gums became VERY sensitive.
- Drink lots and lots of water. This will increase saliva production and help keep you hydrated especially during chemotherapy. It will also help process the chemotherapy drugs through your body.
- Use a sensitive Mouthrinse. This mouthrinse was a huge life saver for me during chemotherapy treatment as the chemotherapy really caused A LOT of sensitivity with my gums and also caused horrible mouth sores, and the biotene was very soothing, I rinsed with it several times each day. It is specifically for dry and sensitive mouth and gums. This product is a real winner!
- If I had to pick one product that I could not have lived without during my treatment this mouthrinse would be it!
- Use a SUPER SOFT toothbrush. This is the toothbrush that I used, it has super thin bristles that feel like feathers on your teeth!
- Use chapstick often. This is the chapstick that I liked due to it being really soft and it helped with the super dry lips due to chemotherapy. It is still my favorite!
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