Saliva and dry mouth: Head and neck cancer and treatments

Thanks for the question…. No, nether of the 3 ,,, but I do walk around the house talking to myself, weird I know!… I also practice talking in my mind, trying to remind myself how I sounded, visualizing it does help believe it or not… voice is still not the same though, pronunciation is mostly the problem… unbelievable what having missing teeth and a platinum plate does to the voice and mouth, it changes the way one moves the lips etc., .. and No, there are times I do not recognize my own voice, and you have to speak slower in order to pronounce the words correctly, which is really weird to say the least, so this in turn makes me self conscious wondering what others hear… but you have to fight through the frustration and just move forward… Life has given you a new perspective and opportunity so use it to its full potential…. But never feel discouraged, recite poetry, read at loud or sing if that’s what makes you happy… Life’s too short to worry about the things that can not be controlled….

@ascc17, such a helpful post. I love the tip of talking even when you're alone to keep working the vocal cords. Did you ever try reciting poetry, reading aloud or singing? What did it feel like to finally recognize your voice again after so long?

Greetings to everyone… so I read through all the comments… my heart goes out to you all… I too been dealing with all those issues in different stages of my ‘after’ surgery and RT struggles…. You have probably read of the long difficult operation and transplant I had to endure… a long road ahead was set after that… Here’s some of what has helped somewhat… For the stiff jaw daily mouth/jaw exercises was a must initially, then after a few months, morning after getting up should become a routine thing to do… it helps but one should ‘talk’ even when alone in order to exercise the muscles and vocal cords… after months in the hospital I started using my throat for speaking which changes your voice a lot.. now five years later finally I have begun to sound like me… even though I still don’t have any feeling in the front portion of the outer frontal jaw/face area, kinda like being a puppet is what I feel like… the saliva or lack of it… for some fortunate ones it will come back but not 100% or even 80% and it will not be the same, so dealing with this becomes a challenge… water helps, juices help but without sugar and natural flavors, one can add gaseous water if needed, this does two things I have found, it moisturizes and aids in getting rid of most of the mucus/phlegm, but don’t drink it to often, it’s bad for the teeth…. I was strongly advised to not go to any Dentist, to go to a Specialist Dentist trained and knowledgeable with Oral Cancer patients otherwise one can suffer unwanted injuries or problems. Oncologist can normally advise on this… the suction pump seems like a good idea and I will follow up on this for sure..so thank you for reenforcing it for me… but please for your own good and health do try to have discipline in what has been suggested or prescribed unless or one will suf the consequences down the road…. Please if anyone has any more information, advice or tips… I am all ears… my very Best to you all…

@hawkssr, you many wish to join members talking about burning mouth syndrome in this discussion group:
- Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS): Anyone found any relief? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/burning-mouth-syndrome-2/

You'll find other discussions about BMS in the Skin Health group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/skin-conditions/

I had burning mouth syndrome and started the “pulling” with coconut oil and was very surprised that after a week or so my mouth felt much better and now I have no symptoms of BMS and I had it severe for several months. I had extensive dental treatment and I’m pretty sure there was nerve damage, in fact I have one crown that is sitting on a nerve but again at least for now I no longer have BMS. It affected one side of the gums, roof of mouth and tongue. Look up Pulling to see how it’s done. Good luck!

hi, i have a burnning tongue that dosen't go away. I finish the RT and Chemo treatment 7 months ago. The Radiation doctor has no clue what it is or more importantly how to cure it. The Dentist dosen't either. I can't find any relieve. Any help/suggestion will be greatly appreciated. I aslo have the dry mouth deal but the burning tongue is what is difficult to deal with. Thank you.

Thank you Jim for your input, I use same in liquid form before bedtime but it’s only good for 4hrs…dry mouth only when laying down… the problem is with the viscosity of saliva, it’s always syrup like so mouth never feels clean. I have no idea how to relieve that… does anyone? The other is the Thyroid medication which may be causing fatigue and some itching but not sure if the medication is the problem.

I use biotene tooth paste for dry mouth.

Must add… Had Full Plate Blood tests done, found Thyroid not quite normal due prior RT treatments, this only found out last year after 4yrs with no problems, so medication given which must now apparently be a life long thing…. Side effects?.. Tiredness, some itching but not sure if it’s because the medication, anyone have similar symptoms?…

I’m a Vietnam Veteran and 5yrs ago diagnosed with SCC, had 2/3 of lower jaw removed along with corresponding Lymph nodes. Lower left leg Tibia transplanted to replace jaw… Had RT shortly afterwards too. Presently on Liquified/Purred diet and Ensure Plus for nutritional needs per Drs advice, also had Peg Tube initially. Problem is Dry Mouth when laying down and Saliva is now like thin syrup all the time. Hydrate constantly with filtered water, this per Dr’ advice too?… Does anyone know why Saliva is syrup like and what can if anything be done about it? Thank you for any advice or comments given… User Name is ASCC17