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Most people even those who've never suffered from cancer are aware of the devastating side effects having the disease can cause. We all know about the nausea and hair loss alot of patients suffer from, but does anyone actually realize that cancer can greatly affect your oral health too? Cancer can cause a variety of problems for the mouth,some of which can interfere with treatments and diminish a patients quality of life. These problems can be triggered by head and neck radiation, chemotherapy and blood and marrow transplants but most people don't even realize that the complications are occurring in their mouths because they so much more to think about.The truth is however your oral health is always important and yes while it may be so far from your mind during treatments , you really don't want to neglect it otherwise it'll become one more thing you have to worry about. Below is a list of the common oral complications that can be triggered by chemotherapy (a common treatment for many cancers ) and radiation therapy.

*Oral Mucositis - This is inflammation and ulceration of the mucus membranes which can increase pain , oral and systematic infection.
*Xerostomia / Salivary gland dysfunction - This is commonly known as dryness of the mouth due to reduced, thickened or absent salivary flow, which increases a patients risk of infection and can compromise speaking, chewing and swallowing.And persistent dry mouth increases the risk of dental caries forming.
*Taste alterations - You may find you loose your sense of taste or foods suddenly taste unpleasant.
*Nutritional Problems - Due to eating difficulties caused by dry mouth, mucositis, dysphagia and loss of taste.
*Abnormal dental development - This means altered tooth development, craniofacial growth or skeletal development in children.
*Neurotoxicity - Persistent , deep aching and burning pain in that mimics toothaches but for which no dental source can be found. A common side effect of certain types of drugs such as vinca alkaloids.
*Bleeding - Oral bleeding from the decreased platelets and clotting factors associated with the effects of therapy on bone marrow.
*Radiation caries - These can develop up to three months after completing radiation treatment and can last a lifetime.
Trismus / tissue fibrosis - This is loss of elasticity of masticatory muscles that restricts a persons ability to open the mouth.

So what can you do to help your oral health during such a difficult time . Well in fact there

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