Dr. Ashley Popejoy is a spokesperson for the American Dental Association and a pediatric dentist in Southwest Missouri.
She spoke about the many oral health complications that can come from cancer treatment and how a medical team can help.
For the month of July, we're focusing on the ways that cancer treatment can impact a person's health and well-being.
Dr. Ashley Popejoy: I really try to put the emphasis on the oncologists and the other medical practitioners that are going to be working with that patient — on getting them to a dentist, so that we can assess before they begin these life-changing treatments.
We can kind of give them direction on how to prevent or how to treat something like mucositis, which is a very painful oral condition after cancer treatment or during cancer treatment that can affect your ability to be able to perform oral hygiene procedures like brushing and flossing.
Or we can also identify and either eliminate or stabilize potential sources of infection, which will cause complications during cancer treatment.
"Maybe you're too exhausted or your mouth hurts too badly from mucositis for you to appropriately brush your teeth, and those are very significant concerns."Dr. Ashley Popejoy
So, if you are somebody who you're about to get a devastating diagnosis, but you also have some cavities that are very deep — if we can get those teeth extracted or stabilized before you begin cancer treatment, then you're not likely to end up with a devastating infection during treatment that your body's no longer prepared for because you're immunosuppressed.
So, in an adult, what I am worried about is: Are you going to end up with dry mouth, which is going to not wash away the sugar and carbohydrates that you're eating because you're not able to eat like those more nutritious fruits and vegetables that are just too hard on you with mucositis, so you're relying on carbohydrates to get your nutrition.
Maybe you're too exhausted or your mouth hurts too badly from mucositis for you to appropriately brush your teeth, and those are very significant concerns.
So, we'll come into an adult's room, and we will offer them things, like, we have these little foam mouthpieces that you can use to wipe off plaque and sugar off of your teeth that are less invasive than a toothbrush would be
Or we've got different salivary replacements that are act like — either a lozenge or a mouthwash that you can swish — that kind of help you be able to swallow with less pain and to be able to wash away those carbohydrates and that sugar.
It just — you don't realize how often you're using your mouth. You have to use your mouth to sustain life and then being able to talk with people that you love — especially if you're potentially looking at an end of life situation. You want to be able to talk to your loved ones and tell them you love them.
It's just a really important part of the quality of that time in patients' lives.
