Side Effects of Oral Cancer Treatment

Side effects are the undesirable effects in body due to usage of drugs or medical surgeries. Side effects are common in oral cancer treatment as the healthy tissue or cells also affected. Side effects are vary from person to person and type of treatment  given.

Side effects of surgery
Side effects of oral cancer surgery varies depends on the site of surgery. The side effects are

• Pain at the site of surgery due to removal of tissue
• Swelling of face
• If surgery is on tongue or jaw leads to difficulty in eating and talking
• Infection at the site of surgery
• Bleeding from the site of surgery.

Side effects of radiation therapy
Side effects of radiation therapy on oral cavity depends on the amount of radiation given. The more exposure to the radiation, the more will be the side effects.

• Dry mouth is common in radiation therapy. It is due to the permanent damage of salivary glands. Lack of saliva production leads to dental infections like dental decay.

• Sore mouth is painful ulcers on mouth after radiation therapy. Using local anesthetic mouth rinses helps to numb the area or pain killers relieve from pain.

• Gum bleeding can be controlled by maintaining oral hygiene. Avoid tooth picks to control it.

• Delays healing time as radiation therapy makes the tissue hard to heal.

• Restricted jaw movement happens in radiation therapy. It affects the jaw muscle and makes it difficult to open mouth. This can be treated by doing jaw exercises and speech therapy.

• Damage of thyroid and pituitary gland: During radiation therapy, damage of thyroid and pituitary takes place. Lack of thyroid and pituitary hormones leads to gain in weight and tiredness. This can be corrected by medicines.

• Redness of skin at the site of radiation can be treated by maintaining hygiene.

• Tiredness after radiation therapy is seen in many patients.

• Loss of taste sense after radiation therapy on head and neck cancer. A metallic taste in mouth is common and causes lack of apatite.

• Loss of smell sense is due to the radiation on oral cavity, which affects nose. Dryness of nose leads to decrease in the smell sense.

• Voice changes varies depending on the site of area gets affected by radiation. It is temporary and you can regain your voice  after a few days.

Side effects of chemotherapy
Side effects of chemotherapy are same as the radiation therapy like infection, dryness of mouth and bleeding gums. Side effects of chemotherapy depends on the amount of dose taken. Other side effects include:

• Blood cells: Chemotherapy affects bone marrow and decreases the production of blood cells. Due to lack of enough blood cells, poor oxygen supply leads to infections

• Hair loss: Chemotherapy affects hair to become thin. Hair on scalp and eye brows and eye lashes fall down. But this can regain once the treatment is completed.

• Skin: Chemotherapy also affects the skin. The skin becomes dry and sensitive to sun. Rashes and irritation of skin

• Nails: Nails become dry and brittle.

• Digestive system: Chemotherapy affects digestive system and leads to side effects of nausea, vomiting. Some tablets irritates bowl.

• Nerve damage: Chemotherapy damages nerves on hands and legs. This leads to numbness or sharp pain in hand and legs.

• Kidney, liver and lungs: Some chemotherapy drugs alters the functioning of these organs.

Ultrasonic Dental Cleaning Or Traditional Method of Cleaning?

Technology has emerged in every field from small to big. No matter how efficient are traditional methods, technology will be evolving day by day in your life. It will have a great impact even though you don't want it to happen. But it is beneficial in one point of view because it is making the people's work easy and efficient in all aspects.

Ultrasonic dental cleaning
In dentistry cleaning methods are traditional till now but with the invent of ultra sonic dental cleaning the dentists burden is reduced. This is very useful for the people who want to keep their teeth and gum healthy all the time. So, people meet the dentist for a regular dental check up.

During this procedure, if the dentist detects any tartar or scrap left on your teeth, they will peroform conventional scaling and root planing methods to remove that scrap but it takes more time for the dentist, and it is also done by hand. Today, the dentist's job has become easier with this ultra sonic dental cleaning technique.

Process of cleaning using ultrasonic scaler
Ultra sonic dental cleaning uses an instrument called ultrasonic scaler. During the treatment this ultra sonic scaler make some vibration and sound wave that crushes and removes the deposited calculus on your teeth and also it crates some shock waves that take away bacterial cells. It also washes and flushes the pockets and exposed root surface by sending the cool water. This water also reduces the heat caused by the vibrations. With this technique the teeth will be more clean and have fresh gums.

Difference between ultrasonic cleaning technique and conventional method

• Ultrasonic cleaning are more effective in cleaning corner of teeth than the traditional method.
• Ultrasonic sclaer can penetrate deeper in to periodontal pockets than manual instruments.
• Ultrasonic scaler takes  less time than using manual instruments.
• Conventional hand-held scaler creates discomfort but this is not the case with ultrasonic cleaning.
• Conventional scalers are easy to use by any dentist but ultrasonic scalers must be performed under the supervision of the dentist who are specialized using this ultrasonic scalers.
• Ultrasonic scaler produces sound waves rather the conventional method this may be option for all patients with pacemakers.
• The scaling done with ultrasonic is painless and comfortable.
• Ultrasonic technique is effective in detecting the early stages of gum and periodontal diseases, and it removes all calculus at once and saves time compared to traditional method.

Maintenance of Teeth for Elderly People

As you age, important changes occur in your body. This leads to different issues with respect to your oral health. Elderly people's teeth are prone to missing of teeth, tooth decay, gum problems, sensitivity, dry mouth. These can be avoided by maintaining the teeth properly. Good oral habits makes the teeth and gum healthy.
This article gives you important points on how to maintain teeth for elderly people to prevent dental problems.

1. Brushing teeth properly

• Brushing twice daily with a fluoridated tooth paste makes the teeth healthy.
• Brush for at least 10 minutes to remove stains from the teeth.
• Brush the teeth properly to ensure that all the surface of the teeth is cleaned
• Clean gums to avoid gum problems.

2. Selection of tooth brush

• Nylon soft bristle tooth brush should be selected for brushing.
• Hard bristle brush should be avoided which hurts the gum and enamel
• Brush should be changed for every 3-4 months.
• Most of elderly people suffer with arthritis and are not able to handle the brush properly. Usage of electronic brushes helps to maintain good oral health.

3. Selection of tooth paste

• Oral health of your teeth depends on the selection of good tooth paste.
• In elderly adults, tooth decay and gum problems are common. Thiey can be avoided by using fluoride tooth paste.
• Elderly people have sensitivity to cold and hot. Using desensitizing tooth paste can avoid the problem.

4. Floss daily

• Floss regularly at least once a day before brushing teeth.
• Floss removes the plaque and clogged food particles between the teeth.

5. Avoid smoking
Avoid smoking if you are habituated to it. Also quit consumption of alcohol. Consumption of tobacco and alcohol increases the risk of oral cancer in elderly people.

6. Taking nutritious food

• Take well balanced diet which helps in the maintenance  oral health.
• Taking calcium tablets which keeps the teeth stronger.
• Avoid taking sugary foods and sticky foods which makes the teeth to prone for dental decay problems.
• Taking sugarless gums helps to increase the flow of saliva which prevents the dry mouth problem.

 7. Visit dentist

• Visit dentist regularly if any symptoms of dental problems like dry mouth, bad odor from mouth.

General health and oral health in particular among elderly people become vulnerable and you take adequate care of your oral health.

What is Meant by Oral Medicine in Dentistry?

This is a branch of dentistry which deals with the clinical diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of any non-dental conditions affecting the oral cavity and maxillofacial region such as lichen plans, ulcers, pemphigus vulgar-is and lesions like leukoplakia, etc.

It deals only with non surgical treatment conditions like dry mouth disease, oral sub mucous fibrosis, burning mouth syndrome etc,. Whenever people come to the doctor and make a chief complaint about the disease, then oral medicine will be given to the patients for initial diagnosis. There is no need of surgery for initial diagnosis and it can be primarily managed by administering oral medicine. Oral medicine is given by the consultant in oral medicine who has dental and medical qualifications.

Research and clinical care are the two factors involved in oral medicine. It is also concerned with the oral health care of patients with chronic, recurrent and medically related disorders of the oral and maxillofacial region, and with their diagnosis and non-surgical management. Oral medicines are nothing but capsules, tablets, liquid syrups that can be swallowed, chewed or placed under your tongue to dissolve.