Hi Stella
For all those who have had radiation to jaw. If you are going to have tooth extractions find a dentist who will prescribe pentoxifyline. Dose is 800mg per day taken with vitimin E 1000mg per day. Preferably starting a couple of weeks before extraction and continueing until xrays show socket has filled with new bone. So three or four months. I was on it when I had molars pulled from high radiatoin area and the dentist remarked that my blood flow there was as good, if not better then someone who had never had radiation, and things healed up normally, maybe even faster then normal. Also, I got a near infra red light, and used that on the area daily for 15 mins. It only took a week for the sockets to close, and three months later xrays showed sockets full of new bone material. I even had implants done there later, same routine, and they healed perfectly. Unfortunately a few years later I got a new cancer on gum that spread into jaw bone, so I lost the jaw and the teeth anyway. 😞
If you want to really turbo charge your healing, mild hyperbaric oxygen treatment can help. I have been doing it since my radiation treatment and jaw reconstruction using fibula free flap. Costs me $70 per one hour session. The pressure is 1.5 times atmospheric pressue and breathing oygen through a mask. I have four treatments to go, the radiation onc is astounded at how well and fast I have healed. If you must have teeth extracted post radiatoin, I would suggest pentoxifyline, vitimin E, plus hbo, and near ifrared light. Your chances of getting ORN will be massively reduced. I will have had 30 hbo sessions when I'm finished. Hbo apparently causes the development of new capilaries in irradiated tissue. This means you have permantely improved blood supply and that will mean less chance of late onset side affects years down the road. Many of the late onset side affects are caused by poor blood supply and low oxyben levels in the tissue. All of these treatments, pento, red light, hbo, improve blood flow in irradiated tissue, but only hbo grow new capilaries and results in permanent improvement. The others result in improvement only while you continue them.
