I am about to start week 5 of radiation and I am having a really hard time keeping my mouth clean. I don't have flouride trays, just a high flouride toothpaste that I was told to use after treatment. I have very healthy teeth. Never had a cavity or any kind of dental issue. I suspect that will change post-treatment. Anyway, I have been doing salt and baking soda rinses several times each day and scraping the yeast of my tongue with a little tongue cleaner. When I brush my teeth, my gums just bleed and bleed. I bought a waterpik but it stings like crazy so I haven't been using it. Any tips on how to take better care of my teeth until these sores and the thrush clear up?

I used an infant toothbrush and Tom's children's strawberry toothpaste - the bristles were super soft and the children's toothpaste was gentle and didn't burn like anything minty that I had tried.

Yes and I find a waterpik invaluable!!!!! I put a little toms mouthwash in with the water and give my mouth a shower! It's a little like a power washer for your mouth and the have a tongue cleaner adapter tooooo! Awesome tool. Use the lowest setting at first uf you cn tolerate it great! Move up! good luck. And heal well!

Thanks guy. I bought a baby toothbrush today. Dora the Explorer!

Tracy,
You know, your healthy teeth/gums don't have to change post-treatment. Mine have not. I was lucky early on that my teeth were resistant to decay when I was a kid. I don't know why cause I sure loved hard candy, although in my family we never kept soft drinks around, they were only for "special occasions", different from today. I'm not that old, but that was how it was.
I have one crown from having a large filling that might not have needed to be done, and the tooth eventually cracked, so my husband, who is my general dentist, put a porcelain crown on it--it's a molar. But now, I take excellent care of my teeth. I may floss them after every meal, depending. I do use fluoride trays although I hate them.

Your mucosa will change in your mouth. I have a little fibroma on my molar pad that is very soft, they looked at it at my last check up and told me it was nothing. If you take it out then you just have more scar tissue, and it looks like it is regressing at that. The tissue is just more sensitive. But when I have my teeth cleaned, they tell me my teeth look great, my gums look great, and I have more saliva than a lot of people, as they have a lot of elderly patients (won't say where that age begins, don't know) who have lost a lot of that without having radiation.

So be proactive and you won't be sorry. I have used kid toothbrushes, but we bought a whole bunch of smaller head very soft adult ones recently, so I can change out frequently. I will say it took a little searching to find them. A dentist might be able to help you if you wanted to find something like that.
Anne

Echoing Anne, flouride trays are a great way to keep dental health. Bleeding from the gums was part and parcel of my Erbitux experience. It gets better
Keep the faith
Charm