I was reading some posts about the effects of radiation on teeth and I am looking for some advice on how to look after mine.

I had brachytherapy of the tongue for one week last April. Since then I have not had any problems with my teeth, other than slight itchyness on the side of my mouth where the cancer originated. My mouth itself is a bit dry, I cope with this by breathing mostly through my nose and carrying a water bottle everywhere. I also drink a lot of water with meals and like most people here stick to soft foods that are not spicy.

I floss daily and brush after every meal. I alternate between using an aloe vera toothpaste and Sensodyne toothpaste (for sensitive teeth). I was also using a non alcoholic mouthwash until I developed another ulcer last december. Now I just use water to rinse as anything else stings.

My last dental check up was in August. The dentist said everything was fine. I mentioned to him I had treatment involving radiation but he didn't seem to think this was going to affect my teeth. After reading some old posts about dental care I made another appointment for a month's time.

My questions:

1. How should I look after my teeth in general after the type of radiation I had (I am unsure how much the brachytherapy would have affected them, as compared to standard radiation treatments)

2.What sort of things should I ask the dentist to look out for or ask him to give me to use (I see from other posts that some people have been prescribed floride treatments)?

As I am living in Luxembourg, some brand names are different, so if you are recommending a specific product please mention what is in it, so I can explain to the dentist/pharmacist what I want.

Redser
Off to brush my teeth again....becoming a little paranoid!