Teef problems!

Ok, so in the last 6 months I've had FIVE ROOT CANALS and I'm going in tomorrow for my SIXTH!  I could own a small island off the coast of Hawaii for what I am spending for dental services right now.  I can't seem to get a straight answer from the dentist or my surgeon on why the development of the teeth issues has recently popped up in full force.   The weird thing is that the decay really wasn't from the outside or my lack of dental hygene but rather my teeth seem to just be decaying from a lack of calcium or some other friggin' element that I just don't know about.   Anyone else having any teeth problems?   I'm starting on a Calcium regimin tomorrow, even though my doc said I didn't need it.  

Chad

I've wondered about this very same thing. My Doc warned about the body going and getting what it needed from existing sources if we didn't get in enough nutrients etc. I assume the same applied for calcium as it does for protein. Because of this, I have taken calcium three times a day (most days) since surgery.

I never had tooth problems in the past, and now I've had a root canal, and by flossing I can tell I need to get into the dentist for at least three more sensitive parts.

I'd love to see some data on this stuff if it's out there.

As far as I know, teeth don't suffer from "osteoporosis", because once the adult teeth have erupted, they're effectively static.  Bone, on the other hand, is constantly being broken down and built back up, which is why a dietary calcium deficit can rapidly turn into osteopenia and osteoporosis, even in men.  (It's like a stone wall that's constantly being disassembled and reassembled to ensure that it's always in "like-new" condition; if you lack stones to build it back up, the process of disassembling it doesn't stop, so the stone wall gets weaker and weaker...)

Everyone post-RNY/DS needs to take calcium citrate supplements for that reason; I take 2 Citracal tablets (630mg calcium) 3 times a day (1890 mg).  I'm not sure that will help with your dental issues, but it can't hurt, and will definitely keep your bones from going south.

/Steve

Makes sense about the tooth erosion from the inside out, Foobear. My molars have been breaking off in chunks so they've obviously become weakened to say the least.

In my case, I've taken 2 calcium citrates daily for 3 years, drink lots of skim/low fat milk and my calcium labs have always been dead nuts on. Who knows why its happening although stomach acids would cause the teeth to weaken from the outside in and when you look at my broken teeth, the insides are obviously rotten.  

All I know is it's extremely painful, expensive to fix and in retrospect, I should have had a full set of xrays done every 6 months after WLS rather than the traditional 12-18 months.
 
Boner

I had all of my teeth pulled withing 18 months of my RNY.  A lot of it had to do with years of neglect but some of it had to do with the RNY.  I had thought about getting some root canals, but the dentist couldn't say whether the teeth would still be good in a few years.  I couldn't see spending all of that money on root canals and evevtually still needing to have my teeth pulled anyway.

I've got to have 7 maybe 8 teeth pulled here in the next month or so. I've always taken decent care of my teeth and my checkup and xrays 18 months post WLS were perfect. So,,,,over the last 18 months, whi*****luded a couple of cleanings, all hell broke loose (no pun intended) with my teeth.

My dentist and another ortho I had examine me told me the sudden decay was due to acids in the oral cavity. I don't vomit much nor do I have severe acid reflux but whatever's causing it, it's mighty destructive on my choppers.

I'm trying to get the $10K+ dentist bill covered my major medical.

Boner

I hate to break it to your doctor, but you have enough malabsorbtion that you should be taking calicium citrate everyday for the rest of your life (and most likely extra vit. D).

you might want to check out www.vitalady.com she's lived with a distal RNY for over 13 years and has given me a lot of nutritional advice on how to get my labs back on track..when they've been off a bit.

Another thing you might try is a flouride rinse. I use one in the morning and at night before I go to bed. Someone recommended it to me over a year ago...and I do it everyday.

While WLS doctors are quick to say : WLS does not cause tooth issues, the trends on OH tend to lead me to believe that in some cases it does. Even if it's for unknown reasons....

Scott

Amen!

/Steve