Dental issues after cancer

Yep.  It can happen.
It is happening to me.

Last night, my mom asked if it was from the cancer, chemo, or just from my genes/oral hygiene.  I have a feeling its a combo of all of that.
But, can I express that I had daily chemo and lots of it...both IV and orally.  During that time, I used a sponge or a baby toothbrush (no joke) and could not floss or use listerine.  I only used Biotene when I could tolerate the taste (let's make that another topic for another day).  The chemo's main goal was to kill off my blood production so my bone marrow would reset, so to speak.  I would stop making platelets, hemoglobins, and especially we wanted my ANC to drop to as close to zero as possible.  I really feel this played a big part in my dental issues today.

A Word To The Wise

Last week I had my wisdom teeth removed.  The ones that came in almost 20 years ago, plus the little bastard that decided to start coming in the week my cancer was discovered.  Doctor took them all out, and I was awake for the entire procedure.  He only used a local.  It has been one week, and I am still adjusting to a wretched life of soft foods. 

Yesterday was the first day I could use the little plastic syringe they gave me.  Honestly, it made a world of difference.  My gums are less inflamed today, and the pain is significantly less, but it does still hurt.

What hurts?  My jaw and biting hurts.  All my teeth feel super sensitive (still).  I think it’s because they were under so much pressure for so long.  My bottom teeth started to crowd, even though they didn’t hurt until last February, when that final tooth decided to make an entrance. 

Mental note to self:  Take care of the rest of your teeth for the rest of your life.  Take care of Frank the Dog’s teeth, too.  That little guy will be miserable if he can’t enjoy a hard, crunchy, juicy carrot. (his favorite).

Part of me feels this pain is so bad because I was awake during the procedure, which, by the way, wasn’t fun.  Even though I was numb, I am certain I tensed up every nerve in my body as he sawed and ripped them out, one by one. 

For a week, I’ve had mostly Jello, pudding, yogurt, tomato soup, and spaghettios.  I tried my hand at egg salad (yum!) sandwiches and those were pretty soft and easy.  Now, today, I’m going to try something a bit meatier…I miss meat.  Lets hope it goes well. 

At least I have my syringe.