Public Service Announcement

So far I've had two broken teeth during my chemo. It's so unusual to break off part of a tooth while eating that I started surfing the net to find out if the chemo was causing it. If you recall from a very early post of mine, I had decided to stop surfing the net for cancer information. It was just too scary and overwhelming to read about all the possible effects from chemotherapy. I decided to trust my doctors, and especially the Infusion Center nurses, to convey any and all knowledge about side effects I might experience. This turned out to be a very good idea because I wasn't being terrified all the time by internet babble about symptoms that were likely never to occur. But, I was sitting at home one day recently, eating a Snicker's ice cream bar when a piece of my back tooth broke right off. Okay, I shouldn't have been eating a Snicker's ice cream bar, but it could have just as easily happened while eating a celery stick! This incident happened about a month after a large filling popped out of a back tooth. I think I was eating a piece of candy at the time. Is a pattern emerging? No, no ,no, no I can't give up sweets! I have cancer, dammit, and I'll eat whatever I want! So, I finished the Snicker's ice cream bar. Afterwards, I sat down at the computer and, lo and behold, all kinds of dental problems can happen with chemo! Didn't know that. The enamel is weakened and plaque tends to build up a lot faster due to decreased saliva production. So that's why I can't spit out the car window while driving down York Rd anymore! Kidding! Anyhoo, lesson learned. I need to take even better care of my teeth. Maybe I'll try a fluoride rinse too, like the nurse recommended 5 months ago! They told me about mouth sores and dry mouth, which I've experienced, but not about cracking teeth. Oh, well, you can't be perfectly prepared for everything and I still stand by my decision to avoid searching the net...

Here are a couple of good sites I found for info about chemo and teeth:

www.livestrong.com/article/31610-effects-chemotherapy-teeth/       Lance Armstrong's cancer site
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/oralcomplications/Patient/page5   from the National Cancer Institue