“Do you know why you’re here today?” the doctor asked.
“No, not really,” I replied. I have a dentist. A hygienist. And an oral surgeon. Before the scheduler called to make this appointment, I had never heard of a dental oncologist. Can you even get cancer in your teeth?
The dental oncologist explained, in no uncertain terms, that head and neck cancer presents a whole different set of challenges in dentistry, due to the radiation and chemotherapy involved. She pointed out that my other bottom molar also needed to come out right away, due to the bone loss around the roots. It’s a preemptive move, because after radiation, I may never be able to have oral surgery again. At least not without her consent first, as a radiated jaw could easily become damaged beyond repair. As in “bone death.” Now I know why I’m here.
This was easily the most eye-opening doctor visit I’ve had since my biopsy. The Dr. explained how radiation and chemo would likely affect my mouth and throat, and how the side effects could be extremely traumatic. If you want to go down the deep, dark, rabbit hole with me, look up “oral mucositis.”
My m.o. in life is to be pro-active and find the most expedient and effective way to do anything, but this prognosis is most daunting. There is no known cure, and only lots of anecdotes of things that helped some, and did nothing for others. I’m researching the crap out of this, and not finding any good answers. Yet.