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Dental treatment before rad denied by insurance
Hi-
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this. I'm a 53yoM with SCC of the tongue. I completed chemo/radiation at Mayo. Prior to the treatment they required dental examination, building a radiation shield and create flouride treatment trays to use after treatment.
My insurance Blue Cross Blue shield of MN has denied the claim. I then provided them with the letter from Mayo saying that this was needed and they had one of the physicians on their payroll review it and that person served it not medically necessary.
Has anyone else dealt with this situation successfully?
Thank you!
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What is HBO therapy?
How many years passed before you began having trouble with your teeth?
My worst nightmare has always been to lose all my teeth. My radiation was targeted to my tonsil, and I’ve been using fluoride trays and fluoride toothpaste since about three months after I completed my radiation therapy. So far I have not had any issues, but I’m still scared of what may come.
@bmora
hyperbaric oxygen therapy
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1 Reaction@guytri Hello and welcome to Head and Neck group. It seems oncologists not well versed in radiation to the oral cavity fully understand the resultant damage that can sometimes occur. My oncologist certainly did not as I was his first patient. I survived but some of my teeth did not. I also lost one mandible which was replaced nineteen years after radiation. My teeth would crack (some still do) and the roots get infected. My mandible developed osteoradionecrosis which is death of bone due to radiation. When the mandible dies, or a section thereof, the roots of the teeth die and the teeth become brittle.
You might want to have a jaw x-ray to ensure your teeth are are still supported by living tissue. If not, there is a surgery to replace this dead bone.
HBO does have some advantages however it will not resurrect dead bone or tissue.
Cancer. The gift that keeps on giving.