Hi guys,

I'm very puzzled as to how much sugar wer are allowed to have. I've got tongue cancer and have just finished 3 rounds of cisplatin and 34 rounds of IMRT. When i saw the dentist before i started my treatment she said "No sugar, that means no cakes, no chocolates, no ice cream ie basically anything that tastes sweet except on your birthday". I turned into a sugar nazi and adhere to her rule. However, during treatment the nurses and oncologists kept telling me to have ice-creams, custards etc and i've noticed that alot of you have sweet things in your diet (having an ensure makes me feel guilty cos of the amount of sugar in it). Doesnt this damage your teeth? I'm only 35 and want to keep my teeth for as long as possible but would really like to think that i can have a piece of cake once in a while when i eventually can eat again.

Minh

A piece of cake once in a while is going to be fine. Your dentist is just warning you that after radiation, it's super easy to get dental cavities for lots of reasons.
The key to keeping your teeth is "meticulous oral hygiene" as my prothodontist preaches. That means multiple brushings, floss and rinse daily plus most of us here at OCF also have flouride trays to put into our mouths and soak our teeth every day with a flouride gel.
Finally, yes, the Ensure and any sweet stuff can damage your teeth if you don't brush and clean it all off. I no longer have to worry so much since I only "eat" with my feeding tube but even without a smidgen of food nor a drop of any liquid in my mouth, I still need to brush and use my flouride trays according to my prothodontist.
Charm

Was this sugar ban just during radiaiton or for life? I think your dentist is overeacting. I don't remember any of us being told to limit our sugar intake, much less to nothing. We are told to brush and floss after everything we eat and to use our floride trays.

Did your dentist give you a reason for absolutely no sugar? Is he possibly one of these misinformed persons who thinks sugars cause cancer? Obviously, the RO's of this world do not agree with the no sugar philosphy as they recommend shakes, ice cream, puddings etc. Anything with calories that we can get down is good.

So go enjoy some cake and just remember to bush afterwards.

Take care,
Eileen

Sugar always burns now, but if I didn't eat a ton of cookies a day dipped in hot coffee or milk, I would look like a thermometer without numbers. Yep it sure can burn and make me miserable, but I have to eat something.

Hi Eileen,

The dentist said that the sugar ban is for life except on my birthdays and christmas when i'm allowed to have a piece of cake. Its not a complete sugar ban because almost everything has sugar in it these days but "anything that taste sweet" . She said that cos i'm young (35yrs old)and if i dont want to lose my teeth and to through all the complications of teeth decays after radiation then i should try and obey the rule.

I'm also wondering how many times should i be brushing my teeth? At the moment, i just brush and floss everytime i eat but Charm you're saying that you still brush even if you dont eat? Why is that? I have my dinner at about 6.30pm and thats the last time i brush for the day. Should i be brushing before i go to bed - which is around 10.30-11pm?

Everyone seems to have these fluroide trays. I asked my dentist about it and she said not to worry - she will look after my teeth for me and that while i was having radiation my mouth would be too sensitive to wear it. I'm seeing her again at the begining of Nov, should i insist on getting one????

Thank you for all your replies everyone. It helps alot for me to have somewhere i can turn to when i have questions. All these specialists are so busy and then you have to wait to so longt before you can get an appointment. Thanks again.

\Minh

[quote=EzJim] Sugar always burns now, but if I didn't eat a ton of cookies a day dipped in hot coffee or milk, I would look like a thermometer without numbers. [/quote]

So Jim, does this mean you have a red bum???

Well avoiding refined sugar as much as possible is good in and of itself for myriad reasons. It was extremely frustrating for my wife and I to be told by our CCC dietician that I could always fall back on ice cream for calories during TX but understandable since I lived on Ensure Plus which is just a chemical variant of sugar.

I left my regular dentist of over 20 years on the advice of my CCC to go to prothodontist whose entire practice is oral cancer patients. His experience is that many dentist do not understand the need for flouride trays to counteract radiation's radical upsetting of the normal balance of a tooth's back-and-forth demineralization and remineralization between the tooth and saliva. So yes, I would insist on flouride trays when you see her next month. Just my opinion.

It turns out that even without eating, I still have bacteria in my mouth and the canned prescription nutrient - Jevity 1.5 - has so much sugar in it that just a little burp brings up enough to start the dental bacteria munching away at my teeth.
However my plaque is minimal and I only have to brush once a day.

Unfortunately your dentist is on the right track about the increased risk of cavities and sugar is not going to help your fight to keep your teeth.
Charm

Get a new dentist.

What David said.

D2

I agree, you need trays! Live your life and enjoy some cake, some can't.... be thankful and just brush your teeth afterwards.