dental x-rays showed that my bone mass was 3.5 and you have to be a 6

Posted by lilyann @lilyann, Jan 4 5:02pm

lilyann here, dental x-rays showed that my jaw bone is a 3.5 and you have to be a 6 in order to have dental implants. so that let me out of that deal. that was many years ago. so now, with this thyroid cancer, i had the radioactive iodine 1-131, back in may of 2023, which is now messing with the rotting of my teeth. so now they want to do radiation treatments on me but first i have to have any loose teeth removed. so i did 3 so far and have some to go. here is my question to some of you out there that might be able to help me solve a question in my mind, which of course i will bring up to the dr. when i see her again. if my jaw bone density is not suitable for implants, then how can my jaw bone stand up to such powerful radiation. i have already read some on " osteonecrosis" . just thinking about it sound so painful. being an octogenarian as it is. pet scan shows progression of lymph nodes, which is one reason my oncologist wanted me to do the radiation in the first place. which i was going to do but the radiation oncologist said the loose teeth have to come out first. so that was the cause in delay plus the slow healing of the gums, so now i am up a creek without a paddle. so mentally i was thinking how in the world could my jaw undertake such stress. could someone give me some of their thoughts on this. thank you ahead of time. god bless and happy new year

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lilyann, Forteo is a medication prescribed for osteoporosis. Oral surgeons are using it to both counter osteonecrosis and to strenghten the jaw bone for surgery. Forteo hastens healing. You might be able to get bone implants with blood supply when those teeth are removed.
To protect patients from salivary gland damage during radioiodine therapy, various interventions including sialogogues and sufficient water intake have been widely applied. Sialogogues increase salvation and reduce the concentration of radioiodine in the salivary glands, and adequate water intake alleviates dehydration, which decreases salivary lavage [6]. It is thought that the uptake in the salivary glands contributes to osteoradionecrosis.
You might be able to have external radiation for progression in the nodes. Proton radiation is thought to more specifically target the nodes.
Thank you for the blessing. Wishing you luck.

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