Preventing and Relieving Mouth Problems
BY NANCY SYMONDS, RDH (Registered Dental Hygienist)
Although many cancer patients don't realize it, the care of their mouth and teeth is extremely important.
If you had a bad experience with dentists when you were little, you may have a hard time believing that dental care has come a long way and now is relatively pain-free. So if you're dentist-phobic (or even if you cheerfully go to your dentist for regular checkups), we hope these articles on mouth care will help convince you that going to the dentist BEFORE treatment begins is an extremely important part of cancer care — and can prevent you from having mouth problems for years to come.
In fact, we recommend you print out these articles and take them to your dentist so you can discuss these techniques with him or her. Unfortunately, not every dentist and hygienist has been trained to take special care of cancer patients. To find a dentist and hygienist trained to deal with cancer patients may take a little sleuthing.
Of course, going to the dentist is only part of mouth care. It's what you do for your mouth between office visits that also prevents mouth problems — so be sure to read all the articles in the index on the right. |
