Before reviewing disadvantages of chemotherapy to your teeth you should anderstand why does the procedure applied to you. Chemotherapy is using medication to treat cancer. Treatment targets the rapidly dividing cancer cells, however can likewise impact other cells – consisting of those in your mouth.
These medications likewise minimize your body’s ability to combat infection. Chemotherapy may cause tooth decay, pain or infection.
Side Effects of Chemotherapy on Teeth
Dental Caries
Tooth decay happens when plaque – acids produced by a sticky movie of bacteria – attack your tooth enamel. This acid breaks down the enamel, producing tiny holes called cavities in your tooth. Chemotherapy affects the salivary glands triggering them to reduce saliva production. This creates a condition called xerostomia, or dry mouth. Saliva is important to oral hygiene as it assists to prevent tooth decay. Saliva reduces the effects of the acid on your teeth and gums, preventing it from attacking the tooth enamel triggering cavities. Chemotherapy likewise interferes with the balance between the useful and hazardous bacteria in the mouth. This can allow the harmful bacteria to take over and connect to your teeth, promoting dental caries as another side effect of chemotherapy.
Late Development
Chemotherapy can impact the growth and development of children’s teeth. The treatments can affect both the shapes and size of establishing teeth, in addition to hold-up the eruption of brand-new teeth. A lot of children getting chemotherapy for childhood cancers will need to undergo orthodontic treatments to assist repair their teeth.
Pain
Chemotherapy can cause pain in your teeth and jaw. This pain can be brought on by grinding your teeth during the night due to the stress of treatments. It can likewise be brought on by damage to the nerves around the teeth. This nerve damage can likewise cause tooth level of sensitivities after treatments have stopped.
Infection
The cells in the lining of the mouth are frequently damaged by chemotherapy. This damage can result in sores and infections that can likewise impact the health of the teeth. Chemotherapy destroys white blood cells, weakening your immune system. This means the body is less able to eliminate off infections from bacteria, fungus and infections. With a weakened immune system, even the great bacteria in the mouth can cause infection. Individuals on chemotherapy are typically offered antibiotics to avoid infections of the mouth. If left untreated however, the infection can spread within the gums, resulting in tooth loss.
