Head & Neck Cancer

Chemotherapy

Patients who are undergoing cancer treatment will often experience changes in their mouth during treatment. Chemotherapy affects all rapidly diving cells, including normally growing ones. The treatment cannot tell the difference between healthy cells, such as those lining the mouth, immune, or hair cells, and malignant cells. Your gums may start to bleed more easily if they are irritated or swollen. Any pre-existing dental conditions may worsen, such as cavities, abscesses, or gum (periodontal) disease. Additionally, mouth sores may appear and be slower to heal, allowing infections to develop by bacteria or yeast that commonly live in your mouth.

Radiotherapy

At low doses, radiation is routinely used in to see inside your body, as with x-rays of teeth or broken bones. However, high does of radiation are used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy does not kill exposed cells right away, but rather takes days or weeks of treatment before the cancer and nearby healthy cells are damaged enough to die. Both cells keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy ends.

Radiation can cause side effects that make it difficult to eat, cause mouth sores, and throat problems. It is critical to keep the mouth in good health during treatment, to help reduce the risk of oral infection.

Following treatment you may find that your symptoms don’t complete resolve or new ones arise, such as limited mouth opening, tender or bleeding gums, jaw pain, or cavities. The goals of dental treatment transition to supportive care that restores function, esthetics, and speech.

Establishing a dental home is critical to managing some of the symptoms that may emerge during, or after the course of treatment. Dr. Schiltz works with cancer patients who have already completed surgical procedures, advanced radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.