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Results of post radiation teeth extraction, implants and HBOT
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Mar 16 10:55am | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
Hi @lanig . I had to get several teeth pulled before they would start radiation. Then about 2 years after my 33 Radiation treatments, I had a lower left molar that was bad and needed to be pulled. I already had partial plates top and bottom since so many teeth had been pulled before radiation.
My dentist knew nothing about nor ever mentioned HBOT. Hine site taught me he should have. He pulled the tooth, added a tooth to my lower plate and sent me on my way. Within 6 months, my gum where the tooth was pulled flared up and I was sent to an oral surgeon.
One of the first questions the oral surgeon asked me, was if the dentist recommended HBOT. My answer was "what is that". He knew then I was in trouble. He did dig out a lot of "mush" bone from the spot and I was better for about 6 weeks.
Then I wake up one morning and someone had stuck half of a golf ball under my skin at that same spot... Terribly swollen. Back to the oral surgeon where he confirmed my jaw had fractured.
August 2, 2025 they did mandible flap reconstruction surgery. 10 days in the hospital, 6 of them in CCU. During the surgery, they actually inserted 6 posts for prosthetic bottom teeth. The procedure was remarkable. They used measurements from my head, neck and body scans and attached the post to the bone before removing the bone from my leg to use for my jaw.
Hopefully by June, I'll have teeth again. I have a great Dental Prosthetic doctor and if all goes well, I'll have teeth by June. They've done 2 Impressions so far and I go back next week for the next step.
Financial
I'm not sure what HBOT cost, but here is what not doing it has possibly cost me, physically and financially.
The Post Implants I mentioned earlier, $10750.00. The costs over and above my medical insurance for the dental part of the surgery, $2500.00. Insurance said teeth are not a quality of life issue.
The lower prosthetic permanent teeth, $26,300.00.
I was out of work (FMLA) for about a month.
Physically
The Jaw Reconstruction left me with pretty bad neck Lymphedema. I work on it daily and wear a neck sock every night to try to control it. Hopefully it will continue to improve so when I get my teeth I can open my mouth wide enough to get some crunchy food in.
The left side of my head, from and including my ear to my chin, has no feeling whatsoever. I'm slowly relearning where my mouth is when I lift a spoon to it. I still drool sometimes however not as much as I used to.
I say all of this to say, if HBOT will keep you from total Jaw Reconstruction, go for it. I would do my homework on the HBOT and hound the doctors for answers and probabilities. I wonder every day how my journey may have changed, if I'd had that chance.
God Bless and Prayer sent
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Hi @pauley thank you for sharing your story. It really hit me hard. I too have a dentist who I feel does not/did not understand the ramifications of pulling teeth after radiation. I really liked my oncologist however I felt like he brushed over the whole radiation and teeth issues from the beginning as I had no idea all this could happen when I began radiation. It would be nice if a dentist had to sign off to your oncologist that at the time all is well in your mouth. My oncologist just said I should see my dentist before I started radiation, which I did.
I had a dental cleaning right after completing radiation and my dentist was aware I had been through radiation. That being said a year after completing radiation I had a lower molar giving me problems she told me it needed to be pulled, so she pulled it. I saw my new oncologist just a few days after extraction (at the same practice, as my first oncologist had left) he was livid that he was not included in the decision to pull the tooth. I asked why and he told me about the possibility of it not healing and developing ORN. I asked what happened if it didn’t heal and he told me it would start with HBOT. Luckily for me it healed just fine. So now a year later I’m dealing with several other teeth my dentist says need to be removed. She sent me to the oral surgeon this time.
I am so very sorry this happened to you. It’s so discouraging to know that our medical insurance will not cover all that could and does happen to our teeth and jaw bone after radiation. I truly wish you had known about the possibility of HBOT, perhaps it could have changed your path and saved you a lot of pain and suffering. I’ve been researching HBOT and I’m hopeful that it will help to prevent any tissue or bone damage from the trauma of extracting teeth, my oral surgeon and my oncologist are strongly encouraging it. So please know that your journey lets me know that I do have to try it, so thank you for that. I wish you all the best! Take care and please let me know how it goes after getting your prosthetic teeth.
For anyone reading this HBOT dives in my area are $4500 for 30 dives, this is through a facility not linked to a hospital or wound care center.