For many people, cancer awareness is mostly about preventing the disease and keeping it at bay. But, while reducing the risk of developing cancer is important, there should also be focus on learning how to identify its signs and symptoms and successfully battle it if and when it rears its head. Patients should likewise look into restoring their quality of life when the cancer is in remission. One step they can take is restoring their oral health once they’ve completed their chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
How Cancer Treatments Affect Oral Health
It’s a common misconception that radiation therapy and chemotherapy are designed to target cancer cells, but what they actually do is to stop or at least slow down the growth of fast-growing cells—regardless of whether they’re cancerous or not. This means they don’t discriminate and can kill any kind of cell in the body as long as it grows quickly, and one such example are the cells that make up the mouth lining. This means that, during and after cancer treatments, oral tissues lose the ability to repair themselves, which can lead to several dental problems.
Aside from targeting mouth lining cells, radiation therapy can break down the jaw bone and cause gums to be inflamed. Salivary glands also get damaged during cancer treatments, and this causes changes in saliva production that can kill off healthy bacteria in the mouth while encouraging the growth of bad bacteria. This can result in oral sores, gum infections, and tooth decay.
What to Do to Bring Back Your Brightest Smile
Generally, cancer patients can protect their oral health by brushing and flossing their teeth regularly and staying well-hydrated to prevent mouth dryness and maintain a healthy mouth bacteria balance. However, it’s often impossible to prevent tooth decay and other oral health problems, which is why a lot of patients need to have tooth extractions and take other major steps.
If you’re dealing with damaged teeth due to cancer treatments and need to have them extracted, you can always get dental implants once your gums have sufficiently healed. Through dental implants, you can:
- Regain mouth function. Missing teeth oftentimes lead to chewing difficulties. Dental implants can help you overcome this challenge, and getting them means you can eat normally again and enjoy a wider range of foods.
- Prevent bone loss. When you get an extraction, you’re not just losing a tooth—you’re also losing a structure that applies pressure on the jaw bone and keeps it healthy. Eventually, if the lost teeth aren’t replaced, the bone in this area can shrink and eventually fail to regenerate, which leads to various oral health problems. You can easily prevent jaw bone resorption by replacing the missing teeth with implants.
- Restore your smile. Tooth extractions leave behind gaps that can be considered unsightly by some patients. By getting a dental implant, you can close these gaps and have the whole and beautiful smile you deserve.
- Bring back your confidence. Dental issues can bring down people’s self-esteem and affect their overall mental well-being. If you feel the same way, getting dental implants can help you regain your confidence and develop a more positive outlook.
To ensure excellent results, you’ll want to work with trusted dentists who specialise in providing dental implants in the Sunshine Coast. With their help, you can have high-quality implants that will withstand wear and tear and help you maintain good oral health for a long time.