For cancer patients, dental & oral health should pay attention because it is closely related to the healing process to disease. Treatment of cancer patients is by way of radiation or chemotherapy, and before this is done, the health of your teeth and mouth should look and run. Spoken by Drg. Sri Rahayu MARS of Dental & Oral SMF, Dharmais Cancer Hospital Jakarta.
Treatment using radioactive or collectively, the radiation must be continuous and should not be interrupted until complete.
Treatment with radiation is causing the condition of the bones become more brittle teeth buffer in a while and elements in the blood decreased from normal levels. This resulted in patients experiencing pain that is, if you have a problem with your teeth and mouth problems. Described by Drg. Sri Rahayu as seminar Maintaining Dental & Oral Health for People with Cancer in Dharmais Cancer Hospital, Jakarta.
Resumed by Drg. Sri, there should be no interference caused by infection from the soft tissue inside the tooth and mouth during the irradiation process. Patients are also not allowed to pull teeth for three years after radiation is completed and it takes time to repair the bone structure and elements in the blood become normal again.
Chemotherapy is the use of substances of chemical treatments for disease . In modern usage, this term refers almost exclusively to cytostatic drugs used to treat cancer . During this process, patients will experience a decrease in blood elements from the condition of normal levels. Therefore, patients should not be exposed to infection, especially in the teeth and mouth.
To avoid infection, chemotherapy patients when placed in a sterile room. The difference with radiation chemotherapy / radiation, patients do not need to wait up to 3 years to do the extraction of teeth, as long as the elements in normal blood levels. Drg said. Sri. This is to prevent bleeding in the mouth at the time of tooth extraction.
So before the cancer treatment process is done, either with radiation or chemotherapy, should consult with your dentist precede related. And the condition of the patient's mouth and teeth should be cleaned to prevent infection.