Cleaning teeth without burning

Hello @phyllisg, I don't have any experience with radiation treatments but have had lots of problems over the years with issues caused by flavored toothpaste. I've been using Arm & Hammer Peroxicare for quite awhile now and haven't had any problems. I believe all of their toothpastes use baking soda as the cleaning agent or whatever they call it. They have several different types that might be a good alternative for your husband - https://www.armandhammer.com/oral-care/toothpastes. I'm tagging my knowledgeable friend @loribmt who may also have some suggestions.

Hi @phyllisg Oh gosh, my heart goes out to your husband. I know the feeling. Mint is prevalent in so many of our oral care products and it burns like fire to those of us who can’t tolerate it due to chemo or other mouth conditions.
Thank you to @johnbishop for bringing me into the conversation because I think I can offer some suggestions.

Your husband can try using just plain baking soda to brush his teeth. It is gentle and soothing…follow up with lukewarm water. Also soothing are warm salt water rinses.
There are flavored children's toothpastes that don’t have mint. I use Bert’s Bee’s kids toothpaste. It’s gentle and doesn’t burn my mouth. There are other companies with similar tooth pastes.

If he hasn’t tried it, pulling with coconut oil can be helpful to sooth the mouth. 1 teaspoon of organic virgin coconut oil in the mouth. Let melt over the tongue then swish for a good 10 minutes through all the teeth. Then spit out into a tissue, not down the drain. Clogs the drain… Coconut oil has anti bacterial properties and calms the tissue. Might help his mouth heal.

A little caution on the hydrogen peroxide swabs. Long term use of peroxide in the mouth can change the normal flora of the tissue. But when the mouth is tender, the swabs do work better than a brush to clean. He could try children’s tooth paste on the swabs.

Another item that has helped me is switching to a children’s toothbrush. The smaller size is so much easier to use and control around tender gums. If he’s really struggling, there are tooth brushes for infants with super soft bristles.
I know, all of this is challenging for something so simple as brushing one’s teeth! I hope he has good luck with some of these suggestions. This condition is temporary and his mouth will return to normal. But I know it’s frustrating in the mean time.
Let me know how these work out for him!

Oh, my goodness! Thank you for the great suggestions!! Will definitely try some.

Radiation-induced mucositis: A retrospective study of dexamethasone-lidocaine-vitamin B12 mouth rinse versus compound chlorhexidine mouthwash in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37215901/

Thank you!!

Hi Phyllisg,
I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's problems with brushing his teeth. That must be awful! I have used baking soda to brush my teeth. It works great! However, it doesn't taste too good. Also, remember it can be a laxative and a very good one. I use it for a laxative mixed into a glass of water. For brushing his teeth, your husband might want to use it sparingly on his toothbrush. I hope this helps.
PML

I have burning mouth syndrome and I used biotene toothpaste, the brand without mint.