hello im tracey 50 yr male diagnosed w squamous cell toungue nov 15 have had radical neck dissection jan 29 chemoradiation therapy should start in next few weeks

Welcome Tracey, Sorry you have had this trouble. Ask questions anytime and stay positive!

tracey, welcome to the site. Sorry you needed to find us. Are you being treated at a major comprehensive cancer center? If not, I would suggest you try to get to one so they can advise you what the best treatment plan is. Cancer centers treat only cancer patients and do hundreds, if not thousands, per year. They get pretty good at treating cancer and if you are a patient, you benefit by their vast experience. As Mark said, stay positive as your attitude will effect the outcome of your treatment.

yes i am to tate cancer center part of univ of md. i do have a question about teeth. i had 1 dentist tell me he would pull all teeth. my regular dentist said she thinks pull only those in the path of radiation. 2 others said i may not have to lose any. i have another appt friday at univ of md. my point is i have very good teeth. never any cavities i do have little periodotal disease but is under control. question is do i need to lose my teeth? after 50 yrs with no tooth problems having them pulled scares me more than the cancer and the treatments!!! thanks for your input!!

Welcome Tracey, sorry you had to find us. I live in Baltimore and am sending you a private email. I too have been treated and continue to be monitored at the University of Md. Carol

Tracey,

Welcome to this site -- you'll find plenty of people here who have been through what you're facing and who want to offer support.

What stage was your cancer? Was there any lymph node involvement at all? Right after my diagnosis, I also heard from one dentist that he might recommend pulling a number of teeth, but the consensus among my doctors overall was that it wasn't necessary. (I was 39 at the time.) I'm now almost 16 years out from treatment and still have all my original teeth. I have to be very careful about oral hygiene, of course, but I'm glad I didn't go with that one dentist's opinion.

Feel free to come back here as often as you want with questions as you continue with your treatment.

Cathy

Tracey,
If your teeth are in good shape you should not need to have any removed. (I have all mine). Consider that you will probably have long term challenges with eating (low saliva and sometimes swallowing difficulties) having teeth will make things easier. That said, go to the dentist that says "keep them" and have him/her really check them out and do what ever to put them in top notch form. I had mine cleaned and a "sealer" put on before treatment began. If you have a lot of metal fillings, ask the radiation oncologist if he/she thinks that the metal might cause problems with the radiation beam itself either by reflecting or absorbing some of the energy.

Teeth that have to be removed after treatments, pose additional potential problems. Those problems can be lessened by Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments. Discuss this at length with your caregivers

In closing the idea that teeth must be removed is "old school" and many of us have our teeth. (and want to keep them)

Take care

Tracey,

I also kept all my teeth, until yesterday. But that is another story. Your issue may be the Periodontal Disease. My teeth have quite a few filling, but they are strongly rooted and free of periodontal issues so I kept them. If yours are cavity free, but loose because of bone loss, the dentists may be able to make a strong argument for pulling the teeth in the radiation field. They should have a Dental Oncologist at the Medical Center and that is who you should see. I have learned a lot about post radiation extractions over the last few weeks and it a little unsettling. I made out well, but you want this issue well addressed now.

Glenn

Hi Tracy,
Welcome to our support group.
My teeth were not in the best of shape when I was diagnosed, not horrible, but not top notch. No one ever suggested taking my teeth out. After my surgery I went to the dentist for a number of appointments to have some fillings and a couple root canals. All this was done before radiation started. I did end up losing one back tooth after radiation but the rest of my teeth are still intact.
Don't let someone pull all your teeth out, it's a procedure that cannot be reversed and life with no teeth must be very difficult.
Keep us informed of your progress!
Minnie

Tracy,

Welcome... you've gotten some good advice already, but I want to emphasize something Glenn said. You need to see an dental oncologist. In some states, they don't use that exact term, but the idea is to find a dentist with a specialty in treating oral cancer patients. The folks you talked to might be fine dentists, but you need someone who does this full time.

I had radiation, and I still have my teeth... other than the ones I lost when they removed the right side of my mandible.

Good luck, my friend.

Ken