The most important thing you can do is to take care of your mouth. Start following the directions below two weeks before your treatment starts or as soon as you can.

If you grind or clench your teeth, wear your mouth guard to protect your teeth.

Brush your teeth

• Brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes.
• Brush within 30 minutes of eating.
• Use a soft toothbrush.
• If you have oral mucositis, use an SLS-free toothpaste. Check the ingredients on your toothpaste to make sure it does not contain SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate).
• If your mouth is very sore, do not use mint flavoured toothpaste
  

If your mouth is too sore to use a toothbrush, talk to your health care team.

Floss your teeth

• If flossing is part of your routine, continue to floss once per day.
• Floss at bedtime, before brushing your teeth.
• Use waxed floss. This will slide between your teeth easier than unwaxed floss. 
• If flossing is not part of your routine, do not start flossing unless your dentist tells you to.
• Stop flossing if it is painful or your gums bleed for longer than 2 minutes. Tell your health care team if this happens.
• If you use a Water Pik, make sure you put it on the lowest setting so you do not hurt your gums.  
  

Use an oral rinse

• Oral rinses help keep your mouth moist and clean. 
• Use this recipe for bland mouth rinse:
• Put 500 mL (about 2 cups) of water into a water bottle.
• Add 5 mL (1 teaspoon) of baking soda. Shake to dissolve.
• If you do not like the taste of the mouth rinse, you can add 2.5 mL (1/2 teaspoon) of salt.
• Use the oral rinse 3-4 times each day.  You may need to rinse up to 8 times each day. Talk to your health care team about what is right for you.
• Follow these instructions each time you rinse:
• Put 15mL (1 tablespoon) of rinse in your mouth.
• Swish in your mouth for 1 minute.
• Spit it out.
  
• Use the oral rinse until your mouth returns to normal. This may take many weeks or months.
  
• Rinse with bland mouth rinse or water after eating and drinking. Rinse after drinking Ensure^® or sports drinks as these have a lot of sugar.
  

Food and drink

• Drink at least 1.5-2 litres (6-8 cups) of fluids each day. Fluids include water, juice (not acidic juices like orange juice as these may hurt your mouth), herbal tea, soup, broths, sports drinks and liquid nutritional drinks like Ensure®.
• Do not drink carbonated drinks (fizzy drinks) like pop. These are very acidic and can cause mucositis, more mouth pain and cavities. 
• Do not drink alcohol as this will hurt your mouth.
• Eat bland, soft foods. You need to eat a balanced diet with enough protein and vitamins. 
• Talk to a BC Cancer dietitian if you are unsure about what foods to eat and drink.
  

Take care of your lips

• If your lips are dry, use a lubricant that is water-soluble, wax-based, or oil-based. Lanolin-based lubricants are the best choice. 
• Do not use petroleum-based lubricants, like Vaseline.
• Put the lubricant on your lips after cleaning your mouth and teeth and at bedtime and as needed. 
• Ask your health care team if you are not sure which lubricant to use.
  

Taking care of dentures

• Leave dentures out of your mouth when you are sleeping.
• As much as possible during your cancer treatment, leave your dentures out of your mouth during the day.
• Take out your dentures before brushing your teeth.
• Brush and rinse dentures after meals and before bed.
  
• While you are sleeping, soak your dentures in a cleansing solution for at least 8 hours.
• If you are using an anti-fungal mouth rinse, soak the dentures in the anti-fungal rinse. Or, brush your dentures with your anti-fungal rinse before putting the dentures in your mouth.  
  

Some things you should not do: 

• Do not use alcohol-based mouthwashes or over-the-counter rinses. Even alcohol-free rinses may sting due to chemicals in it. It's best to use the bland mouth rinse.
• Do not eat spicy, acidic or coarse foods.
• Do not drink alcohol.
• Do not smoke.

Talk with your health care team if you are having trouble with any of these instructions