Hi Karen,
I decided to post it publicly in case others might be helped as well.

A Perio Aid is a toothpick holder that is used to clean the sides of the tooth at the gumline. (you break off the toothpick in the holder so only a piece of it sticks up, perpendicular to the holder).

A WaterPik is a device that uses pressured water to clean the teeth at the gumline.

Sonicare is an electric toothbrush

Dental trays are plastic molded shells made from full mouth impressions. The fit the upper and lower teeth exactly so very little flouride is required for treatment. It also holds the flouride in place for a more effective treatment.

If my descriptions are still confusing let me know and I will take pictures and email them to you.

Gary, thanks a lot for your descriptions. If it is not too much trouble, please send me some pictures (other than the Sonicare) to help me understand even better.

Karen

Anyone who paid more than a couple of hundred dollars for the trays got ripped by doctors in my opinion. I used to be in the business, and the trays are vacuum formed over a stone model of your mouth by a lab tech in about 15 min. The impression taking and the model making costs the doc about 15 min in time and 25$ in materials. For those on a really tight budget, go to the drug store and get an athletic mouth guard kit. They are about 24$ you can make your own set of fluoride trays out of this.

I have a big team! Surgeon every 6 weeks, increasing intervals throughout the years; 2 medical oncologists (touch base via phone), 1 Family Doctor (checking mental health bi-weekly), 2 social workers (mental health weekly), nutritionist who's GREAT (now weekly), radiation oncologist (weekly), radiation nurse (weekly), 3 radiation specialist people (daily), and a company checking the professional background of everyone I'm seeing!

I just posted a question under the cancer dentist thread. The fluoride is hurting so badly and the radiation nurse said it's for after treatment is over. The dentist wanted me to do it throughout. I had the Rx Prevedint (SP?) from Colgate, but had to switch to over-the-counter ACT this weekend. I don't think I can even take that pain much longer. I still have a ways to go. Suggestions?

Sabrina

I had a problem with the mint flavors in the fluoride. It was the mint that stung my mouth really bad. Opt for the wild cherry, bubblegum type flavors, it was milder in my mouth.

When you are in pain from mucocitis etc. fluoride treatments may be something that you just cannot tolerate. If you are diligent about your oral hygiene, (which can be difficult when you feel so miserable from the treatments) I would pass on the fluoride until your soft tissues are able to tolerate it. Try the Laclede Biotene product. It does not have a foaming agent (which is in most toothpastes like Crest) and that is one of the culprits in the irritation issue. It has fluoride, though not in Rx strength. If what you are using is painful, it is likely slowing down the healing process too. Perhaps a compromise is in order for you.

Yesterday, the Biotene mouthwash started burning too much to use. Rinsing with 2 cups water with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda seemed to help calm it.

The Biotene toothpaste is doing okay, though the toothbrush is starting to feel like mild sandpaper. My social worker also recommended brushing with devices looking like "sponges on coffee stirrers". For some reason, I thought I read about it here too. Coincidentally, yet another advisor recommended them yesterday and emailed me:

Sponge Swabs:
Toothettes by Sage Products, Inc. 1.800.323.2220 manufactures the toothette.
You can goto their site and click on Clinical Products and Oral care...www.sageproducts.com

I hope this helps someone else, too! I've been recommended to a local dentist specializing on radiation/chemo patients. Hopefully she'll have more recommendations.

Thanks again for everyone's advice!

Sabrina

How time flies! I had forgotten the pink sponge-on-a-stick. Those really are great. When you get a little better, buy a toothbrush for children. I got the one for the youngest and it was soft enough to work quite well. The Biotene mouthwash burned me too. The mixture of water and baking soda given to me also included some salt, and on occasion I was to add a little hydrogen peroxide. Whatever, it worked and I never had to battle thrush, which is so common. Hang in there! And before I forget, definitely do stretching exercises with your jaw. You can ask your team about this, but you want to avoid the stiffness that makes opening your mouth painful or impossible. The exercises can be accomplished with a device called Therabite, with stacks of tongue depressors, or using your thumb and forefinger to push your jaws apart. I didn't find out about this until near the end of my treatment, so it was a struggle that needn't have been to get back to normal. Just one more thing for you to remember!

Sabrina,
you should be using a baby's toothbrush toothbrush at this stage if you are not using one already. The radiation beats the gums up pretty badly so the softest toothbrush you can get makes a lot of sense. The adult soft brushes are very stiff compared to a baby's toothbrush.

I had to forgo flouride for a while also when things were just too raw and destroyed. Make sure that your flouride treatment is pH neutral.

If your pain is that great, you may need to employ a swish & spit like "pink magic" before attempting dental care (which has morphine in it).

All right, All right I give in. I'll start using the flouride trays again. You guys have inspired me besides my teeth look terrible already and I just finished treatment January 23.

Lynn