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Teeth falling apart

Jemal

Senior Member
Messages
1,031
I went to the dentist today and we came to the sad conclusion that my teeth are falling apart. Well, not literally... but my gums are inflamed, I get cavities very quickly and as soon as I get a cavity and it gets filled, the nerve will die most of the time, giving me excruciating pain until it is dealt with by the dentist by giving me a root canal.

I have had appointments every 3 months for years now and my teeth are then checked and cleaned. They make regular photos as well. And still I get these problems.

So, do you all have dental problems as well or am I just unlucky with my teeth? I have the feeling my immune system is again busy doing other stuff (or it has fled the scene), but not protecting my teeth...
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
A few years back, as this illness really started taking its grip, my lower front teeth started getting kind of crumbly. One lost a small chunk when I was eating something totally benign. It was a sizeable enough piece that I had to have that tooth built up again.

I have more recently noticed the tiny beginnings of multiple cavities, where in the past I stayed cavity-free even when avoiding regular dentist visits (I find them more toxic than helpful, as well as expensive.) In my case, I think the increas in caries is due to chronic acidosis, affecting the Ph of the mouth as much as the rest of the body.

Finally, I have had receding gums for some time, but dentists always say it is not due to bacteria, that I have great dental hygiene. I am convinced they are receding due to heavy metal toxicity. (Dentists may be reluctant--or not trained--to talk about heavy metals at all due to the whole amalgam debacle.)

In my case it was lead though--at 175X reference range. Bringing the levels down as far as 25X reference range has not helped. The gums are still receding and the delicate enamel that used to be below the gum line is started to wear, thus making the teeth more sensitive.

I have looked for answers in alternative world--there is lots of info online, esp from the Weston Price foundation, which looks like it could be very useful (if you are not a vegetarian.) Of course, as with so many "downstream" problems, it is often difficult to embark on a whole protocol and strategy for one symptom cluster on top of the full-time job of managing this illness day to day.

I am currently a similar quandary about my eyes. My eyesight is degrading really fast and it's freaking me out, and I just don't know how to begin or who to approach.

If this illness had been recognised decades ago, perhaps we would have eye doctors, dentists, cardiologists, etc who knew what the heck we were talking about and what to do about it.
<sigh>
Long rant aside, Jemal, start with Weston Price Foundation. There are some key points there on remineralising teeth, and actually regrowing healthy enamel in extant caries.
 
Messages
90
Location
Sydney, Australia
I've had 2 extractions in the past couple of years due to excruciating pain, although my dentist couldn't find any reason for the pain, and said that everything looked ok. I opted to have the teeth refilled, but this made no difference. I then chose extraction over root canal as I find the whole dental experience extremely toxic.

I concluded that this was yet another symptom to add to my ever increasing list of unexplained symptoms.

Best wishes,

Sandra
 

caledonia

Senior Member
I barely had any cavities my whole life then when I got sick, I started getting a bunch of cavities. My dentist said my mouth was dry. My eyes were also dry and gritty. My doctor called this "sicca syndrome", basically "dried out". There is a more severe autoimmune version called Sjogren's Syndrome.

Anyway, I started taking large amounts of fish oil, and as long as I do this, my eyes and mouth are back to normal, and no more cavities. If you do this, you should take pharmaceutical grade fish oil, or at least molecular grade fish oil. I take about 1 tsp now. I've taken as much as 2-3 tsp. in the past.

The dry mouth and eyes thing is also a symptom of adrenal fatigue. As I've gotten my adrenals improved, I need less of the fish oil.

I also had problems with my teeth getting sensitive. I noticed it most when I was getting my teeth cleaned. I got a Phillips Sonocare electric toothbrush and a tooth powder called Eco Dent. This doesn't have fluoride or artificial sweeteners like so many toothpastes and it has minerals to help remineralize.

This has helped my sensitivity at cleanings.
 

Mya Symons

Mya Symons
Messages
1,029
Location
Washington
I've lost two teeth since this illness and I don't think it because of lack of personal hygiene. I brush and floss my teeth probably more then the average person, but not like I used to before I got sick. I used to be obsessive about brushing and flossing. My issues may be due to dry mouth. The weird thing is my dentist told me he sees people with Fibromyalgia or CFS and they seem to have more problems with their teeth (i.e. cavities, root canals, gum disease). He said he didn't know if it was lack of good care of our teeth because we are sick or something else. Maybe there is some other physical problem having to do with these illnesses? Vitamin deficiency maybe?

Leela, I also have unusual problems with my vision including blurry vision (sometimes hard to get in focus) and lots of floaters. I was told by the opthamologist that I had all the floaters because the jelly part inside my eyes was hardening and this usually doesn't start to happen until a person is in their 50's or 60's (It started in my 20's). I had lasix surgery several years ago. Before the surgery my vision was 20/650 in the right eye and 20/700 in the left. I think on a prescription they usually write that as 6.50 and 7.00, but I am not sure. My nearsightedness got worse every year. If I remember right, I started out with 20/50 and 20/75 vision and it just kept on getting worse.
 

Enid

Senior Member
Messages
3,309
Location
UK
Just to confirm that all spoken about here is very familiar to me too along with mouth ulcers and sinus problems. We have little testing in the UK but it was obvious to me the cause was infection (despite oral hygiene). I've varied just about all the supplements ever recommended for ME/CFS at times so couldn't pinpoint any as a particular aid, but the situation has improved and a recent removal of 4 crumbled teeth and roots (with suspected infection) does seem to aid too. My Dental Surgeon put me onto a course of Amoxocillian immediately - it didn't improve GI problems but masses of probiotics seem to have restored function again from the onslaught - a risk I was prepared to take.
 

Jemal

Senior Member
Messages
1,031
Thanks for the comments.

I have the drye eye and floaters as well. I got the floaters after I got sick. Two times I got what doctos call eye migraine. It started with a very bright spot in my eyes (like red-hot iron) and then my vision blurred for about 30 minutes. After those two episoded I had dozens of floaters in both eyes. They made me crazy at first but about 6 months later I adjusted to them and I only notice them now when I remind myself about them.

Anyway, oral health says a lot about the overall health of your body, I believe. It's obvious we have issues controlling pathogens, like bacteria.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Bacterial Infections in Teeth

Anyway, oral health says a lot about the overall health of your body, I believe. It's obvious we have issues controlling pathogens, like bacteria.

Hi Jemal,

Got to empathize with your quandry; I face similar difficulties. You might be interested in this "eye-popping" article entitled, "Ground Zero for Lyme is the Mouth". This article is not necessarily solely about Lyme, as the mouth is also apparently ground zero for any number of other chronic bacterial infections. It then goes on to describe the relationship between these bacteria and root canals.

Ground Zero for Lyme is the Mouth

I've had all kinds of pain syndromes in my mouth, gums and teeth for years. I'm guessing it's most likely my Lyme and/or other bacterial infections. I once mentioned these pain syndromes to my dentist. She thought about it for a moment, and finally said, "Do you think it's psychological?" It was so funny, I didn't even have time to feel offended. In fact, it took all I could to not laugh out loud. I'm glad I didn't as she was really being sincere in her inquiry. It's an amazing medical world we're all trying to traverse! :)

Kindly, Wayne

Another book that is quite an eye-opener is:

The Silent Saboteurs: Unmasking Our Own Oral Spirochetes - As the Key to Saving Trillions in Health Care Costs
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
I have the dryness problem too. Gritty, painful eyes, very dry mouth (especially when sleeping--but not a mouth breather) dry skin and hair.
On a recent blood test calcium levels had dropped too.
Yes I agree that dental issues are just one more downstream effect of the overall stressed-out, overtaxed system.

One thing I forgot to mention before is oil-pulling. Basically it is the practice of spending 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning
swishing high-quality oil (sunflower, sesame, coconut) around in the mouth (I used to just lie back down in bed to do it). It is very soothing and nourishing to the gums, and supposedly draws out microbes. I have done it twice, each for a one-month period and noticed no change to my receding gums, but the concept is that over long-term practice it can remineralise teeth, support immune function, and restore gum health. Each time I just ran out of inspiration after a month and stopped doing it. It might be worth a try, though--inexpensive, easy, and potentially helpful.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Herbalist John Christopher's Herbal Eyewash

I am currently a similar quandary about my eyes. My eyesight is degrading really fast and it's freaking me out, and I just don't know how to begin or who to approach.

Hi Leela,

I was wondering if you're familiar with herbalist John Christopher's herbal eye wash. Here are some eyewash testimonials posted on Curezone:

Herbal Eyewash Testimonials

Also, I recently read Pamela Weintraub's book entitled "Cure Unknown - Inside the Lyme Epidemic". In it, she mentions how seriously her eyesight deteriorated as she battled Lyme (the bacteria get into the eyes). The good news was she was able discard all her eyeglasses after she successfully treated her Lyme.

I've used this eyewash on and off over the years, and have noticed that it seems to take a certain "stress" off of my eyes. But it could sometimes exacerbate my chronic daily headaches. My headaches are now generally 75% improved from what they used to be, so I'm preparing to try these eye washes again. Easiest for me was to get a 1 oz. tincture that is easy to prepare and use.

Best Regards, Wayne
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
One thing I forgot to mention before is oil-pulling. Basically it is the practice of spending 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning
swishing high-quality oil (sunflower, sesame, coconut) around in the mouth (I used to just lie back down in bed to do it). It is very soothing and nourishing to the gums, and supposedly draws out microbes. I have done it twice, each for a one-month period and noticed no change to my receding gums, but the concept is that over long-term practice it can remineralise teeth, support immune function, and restore gum health. Each time I just ran out of inspiration after a month and stopped doing it. It might be worth a try, though--inexpensive, easy, and potentially helpful.

I do the above oil pulling approx. 5-6 times/week, usually in the mornings. I follow this oil solution with a bentonite clay solution to help "mop up" some of the toxicity that the oil pulling draws into the mouth. It's been easy for me to continue with this, as I almost always seem to feel better during and after doing it. And I generally do it in the earlier part of my day as it seems to help pull me out of my morning stupors.

Wayne
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I never miss one of my dentist checkups (which I have 12-24months depending on when my dentist sends me a letter saying to come in) but last time i went I had 4 fillings (almost 5, one they decided to just watch). My dentist thought it was due to stress and teeth grinding as Ive now wore the enamal off (Im 40).

My teeth at the base also started to go all crumbling.. I was getting pieces of gritty teeth bits in my mouth and if i scrapped my tooth with my finger.. bits of tooth were coming off. Fortunately that seems to have stopped happening so I have no idea why it was like crumbly for about 4mths and now fine.. makes me think it may of been a deficiency???

Leela... my eyes are aging too. I think I wrote about it in my blog but I was at the eye doctor the other day and have had to get reading glasses (my mother dont even have reading glasses yet). At just 40 years.. Ive been told my eyes are getting old.

I think the ME really screws us up.
 

Overstressed

Senior Member
Messages
406
Location
Belgium
Hi Jemal a.o.,

it looks like large bits of symptoms we face are common with HTLV/HIV infection. Very early after disease onset, I was complaining about dry mouth to a HTLV-researcher, and she told me I need REGULAR fluor treatments of the teeth. She told me, saliva and tears are very complex and most likely, one enzyme is 'missing' due to infection. For dry eyes, she told me to start asap with fish-oil capsules, 2 in the morning, 2 in the evening, and then switching to 1 in the morning and evening. This is common to HTLV, and most likely it's common too to the virus we have.

@ Leela: I think we all have also eye-sight problems, and I wonder if you have eye-pain too ? Because my left-eye hurts often, especially when I go from artificial light into sunlight, then it hurts. One eye doctor once gave me anti-inflammatory drops for my eye, and it helped. Note, he didn't see any inflammation, he just gave me this to try and see if it helps.

Now, very recently I started to have slight eye-pain again, and I wonder if that's not the same HIV+ experience. It's called CMV retinitis. I'm CMV+ and personally I think it contributes to my eye pain. If not treated, it will lead to blindness. So, maybe we should regularly pay the eye-doctor a visit ? I know of HTLV+ people often complain of uvetis.

And recently I read something interesting on Science Daily about dry eyes and mouth. It looks like bad functioning of NK-cells cause dry eyes/mouth. Now, isn't that interesting within the scope of XMRV ?

I must say, since I'm on Gc-Maf, the issues above have improved...

OS.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
Ive just realised that my teeth stopped their crumbling and have come good after I started taking selenium and molybdenum.. so I wonder if they had something to do with the crumbling stopping in my case? or coincidental?
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
My teeth keep crumbling and dropping to bits too. And I have such bad receding gums that there are tooth roots exposed at the gumline.
I asked the dentist about the cracking, and he said there was no sign I was grinding my teeth. He couldn't think of any particular explanation for it.

Interesting about selenium and molybdenum, Tania. I've been taking those for a while, I recently increased my moly dose a lot.
I did read recently that adequate amounts of Magnesium are essential for calcium placement, i.e. to actually fix it in the teeth and bones. Without magnesium it ends up in forming harmful lumps in certain soft organs. The usual dosage of mag is 400mg daily but I have been taking 900mg daily for a few months now.