Just wondered when it is okay to revert to my electric toothbrush and normal toothpaste? I have been using a soft bamboo toothbrush since I began chemotherapy, but my last one was on 10th December, and I feel like my teeth need a really good scrub!
2 Likes
This is very interesting. Were you advised not to use electric toothbrush? Not heard of this. X
Hi,
I used my electric tooth brush and flossed daily all the way through chemo. I had no problems doing this. Didn’t change my oral hygiene.
1 Like
I’ve been wondering this too! I miss my electric toothbrush. My last chemo is 2 Jan, I’ll probably wait a couple of weeks and then start using it again 
1 Like
Don’t recall any medical professional advising me not to use an electric, but fellow sufferers seem to recommend soft toothbrushes and I received 2 from cancer charities. Also I had really bad mouth ulcers after one dose of chemo and could not have coped with an electric one at that stage.
1 Like
I had lots of mouth issues so waited about 4 weeks till it felt less sensitive. My mouth was sore throughout chemo (had thrush during EC and ulcers during Docetaxel) so I also used a soft toothbrush and biotene toothpaste and just waited till I felt my mouth had recovered enough/wasn’t sore before I switched back. No one told me when to switch back, but I could tell when it was a good time to try. I also stuck to the biotene toothpaste for the first few days when I went back to electric toothbrush as I felt my usual toothpaste may have been a bit much/strong tasting so you could also gradually phase one or the other in to test the water
2 Likes
Sorry to ask - what is bíotine toothpaste and where did you get it? X
It is a fluoride toothpaste for dry mouths that is gentler and doesn’t have the same strong taste as usual toothpaste (I found the strong mintiness type flavour hurt during chemo - I usually use sensodyne so that’s what I’m comparing to). You can get biotene toothpaste from boots or Amazon etc and there’s a mouthwash too if your mouth is very dry
1 Like
Thank you!
Xx
1 Like
I was advised by my dentist to use a sensitive head on my electric toothbrush and I took it upon myself to get a specific sensitive electric toothbrush with 3 speed settings. So far I’ve been fine with the middle setting (currently cycle 4 of 6 chemo) but could use the slowest one if my mouth becomes problematic. I’ve had some whiteness on my tongue and loss of taste, but no breaks in the skin or ulcers. I’ve used a manual baby toothbrush to brush my tongue with bicarbonate of soda solution when it was white (per Macmillan advice).
1 Like
I have used my electric toothbrush throughout chemo and I’ve one more to go. I did buy soft toothbrushes etc in preparation but never used them. My teeth are not very good and would hate to think what they would be like if I wasn’t able to use my electric brush
1 Like
I used a soft brush on my electric brush throughout chemo and used ordinarily toothpaste. I went back to my normal brush once the head on after I finished rads after op and chemo needed changing.
I used a Philips sonicare toothbrush all through my chemotherapy. I used it on the lowest setting without a problem. With an electric/sonic toothbrush you don’t put any pressure on the tooth or gum and let the brush do all the work. I also flossed daily. I used my usual toothpaste aswell.
I was gifted a soft headed toothbrush and tried it at first and found I was more heavy handed than with the Philips. I used it for my tongue after that.
I had some mouth soreness and thrush and was given Corsodyl to use. I rinse with salt water daily after using my asthma inhaler so I think that helped a lot.
I think you just have to do what works for you.
Maybe try oil pulling before brushing in the morning, it might help a bit until you get back to using the electric toothbrush? But of course check with your oncologist team first. Helped my partner through her entire chemotherapy time in preventing major dental problems etc.
Hi Re bicarbonate of soda, hate to scare you but this actually thins the enamel on your teeth. In our youth we were told the strong teeth have the same appearance as ivory, whereas white = weak.
Instead of buying very expensive Oral B Toothbrushes, i find and still use Wisdom electric toothbrush 50% cheaper than oral B. Colgate for sensitive teeth works fine, but one could always use an infusion of Thyme to rinse your mouth with.
This is what i used post recent tooth extraction, utilizing the herb in a jar, 1 teaspoon in a mug, similar prep as for tea. Moonsox
Thanks but I was just using a weak bicarbonate of soda solution to brush my tongue for about three days when it was coated after chemo. I rinsed my mouth out so I doubt if it did any damage to my teeth and it worked a treat for the tongue. I hadn’t heard of using an infusion of thyme. I’ll look into that, thanks
I know of someone in Australia who was prescribed bicarbonate of soda solution to help during chemotherapy. I added it to my salt solution mid way through chemo.
- Try making a mouthwash by dissolving bicarbonate of soda and salt in 1 cup of warm water. While your mouth is very sensitive during treatment, use 1/4 tsp of each ingredient. After treatment is over, you can increase this to 1/2 tsp. Swish it around your mouth, spit it out and then rinse your mouth with plain water.
It’s important to rinse with plain water.
1 Like
I used a soft head on my electric toothbrush throughout chemo and was okay with this. Also, after my chemo had ended I had a lot of teeth sensitivity. So I used Duraphat which helped to reduce my tooth sensitivity, you can order it online.
1 Like