Toothache….you know, you try to ignore it, but it niggles away, wakes you in the night and eventually the painkillers don't help and you end up at the dentist.
I shouldn't have toothache. I'm on bisphosphonates and I had my dental check up 4 months ago and all was well. I'm not meant to have dental treatment whilst on bisphosphonate as it increases the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw. Now there's a few new medical terms to go and Google!
It all happened in a bit of a blur. I have (had) an infected wisdom tooth that needs to come out. The dentist was fabulous, listened to my cancer history, knew all about the risks of osteonecrosis and talked it all through with me very thoroughly and professionally. A quick call to my fabulous oncologist (at 7.30pm no less) and we agreed to go ahead. The dentist whipped out my tooth in literally less than 30 seconds, stitched me up to give my bones the best chance of healing and here I am, 4 hours later, in post extraction pain and quite hungry as this whole event interfered with dinner!
Am I anxious about the risk of osteonecrosis? Yep, too right I am, but pragmatically I had no choice and now I have to take care of my gums and keep my fingers crossed.
