Critical Oral Care Before, During and After Cancer Treatment.

With over a million cases of cancer diagnosed each year, it is imperative to understand the relationship between oral health and cancer treatments. Our experts here at Dr. Mario Garita Dental Clinic can make sure that your mouth does not compromise your life.

Pre-existing or unrelated oral diseases before or during cancer diagnosis can compromise cancer treatments. Oral complications can lead to systemic infections: that may require you to take lower cancer treatment dosages or prolong, delay or quit certain treatments altogether.

Oral treatment by a knowledgeable dentist before, during and after any type of cancer therapy is medically necessary. That is to ensure that your mouth does not get in the way of your health.

Before Cancer Treatment

A very thorough oral evaluation by our knowledgeable team before cancer treatment is essential. So that any existing issues of bacterial imbalances, cavities, inflammation of the gums, or potentially infected areas can be addressed prior to starting cancer therapy.

Pre-treatment oral care and examinations:

Increases the likelihood of completing cancer therapy regimens successfully.

Reduce the risk of later incidents of bone necrosis or bone infections (which can be a complication during chemotherapy and radiation treatments).

Should be done at least one month before undergoing cancer treatment to ensure adequate time to heal and recover.

During Cancer Treatment

Regular oral checkups should be conducted by a knowledgeable dentist. Thois is to contain any bacterial growth, infections or inflammation occurring in the oral cavity area. In addition, fluoride rinses have not been proven to prevent tooth demineralization, which radiation therapy can cause. As a standard, we recommend beginning fluoride tray therapy at least three days before beginning any radiation treatments; and then daily until your cancer therapy is complete.

Our team of experts can help you to select the appropriate gel for your type of teeth. Also to train you to apply the trays correctly so that you avoid irritating your gingival and mucosal tissues. Important: Do you wind up with radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction? Daily fluoride gel application will be critical for the remainder of your life.

While your cancer therapy is ongoing, consult your oncologist before any dental procedure, including prophylaxis (regular cleaning).

Schedule dental work during cancer treatments very carefully.

You need oral surgery? you should allow for at least 10 days of healing before receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. If it is elective oral surgery, you will need to wait until all radiation therapy concluded.

Are you receiving chemotherapy? You should have your oncologist conduct bloodwork 24 hours before any dental work. That is to ensure that your platelet count, clotting factors, and absolute neutrophil count are sufficient.

Do you suffer from dry mouth? Choose a sugar-free gum sweetened with Xylitol. Also sip water frequently rather than juice or soda. Finnaly suck on ice chips rather than candy. Our team can also approve certain saliva substitute gels or sprays that will not encourage the growth of bacteria.

After Cancer Treatment

In case your immune system is still a concern after cancer treatment. We will work with you and your oncologist thus to determine whether you can resume normal dental care or if you will still need to make certain modifications. If you have received radiation therapy. You will need more frequent checkups and oral evaluations immediately following your treatment to determine ongoing dental care.

Let our team here at the Mario Garita Dental Clinic make sure that your mouth contributes to the success of your cancer treatment and your recovery.