• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

My teeth are a mess

douglasmich

Senior Member
Messages
311
My teeth are falling apart and because of my MCS and adrenal issues i can NOT have an extract or a root canal that will poison me more.

2 of my wisdom teeth are cracked in half and black, and 2 of my molars have a black spot (cavity for sure)

However i have no pain at all which is good but i am worried things will keep getting worse. It seems i am demineralizing very fast. I have diognosed osteopeiona in my spine in my mid 20"s !

Currently for teeth this is what i do
- 20min oil pull in morning
- eat beef liver weekly
- take cod liver oil daily
- take 1tsp ground egg shells daily (about 1g calcium)
- 350mg elemental magnesium

Is there anything else i can do? My gums are receeding too......... sigh.............

My friends get drunk 2x a week and eat like trash and have no problems at all !
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Phosphorus is also important for dental health and bones, though I rarely see it mentioned. Do a google search. Dairy products tend to be high in phosphorus.

Also CoQ10 is supposed to be very good for gum health.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
It seems i am demineralizing very fast.
I think this was happening to me as well. I couldn't understand why I had so many problems with my teeth. I cleaned them properly and I ate good food. We could be using up our minerals very quickly or some of them with this illness. I think @MeSci was taking a mineral supplement for this sort of reason and it had made a difference.

I hope you can find something that helps. I ended up getting all my teeth out because I seemed to be always at the dentist and repairs wouldn't last long and back I would have to go again. I couldn't afford all the expense as well.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
This article may help:
http://now.tufts.edu/articles/restoring-toothpastes-mouthwashes
In other cases, if there is a calcium deficiency elsewhere in the body—in the spine of an osteoporosis sufferer, for example—calcium can leach from teeth to fill this need....[......]
Because they strengthen enamel, restoring toothpastes or mouthwashes can help prevent decay. But this is only effective in combination with good oral care habits, such as avoiding excessive sugars, starches or acidic foods, seeing a dentist regularly and being alert to medications or medical conditions that may affect your teeth.

Avoid putting sublingual B12 next to your gums, as it can destroy tooth enamel.
Are ground egg shells the best source of calcium?
 

xrayspex

Senior Member
Messages
1,111
Location
u.s.a.
I have had similar dilemma, chemicals bother my mcs and physical trauma bothers a neck condition I have so I dread dental but needed 2 extractions within a year after 1st trying a root canal on one of them
Never again will I do root canals but I will put up with trauma, carefully, of extraction again, because once I got over the pain of getting it pulled my overall pain in body went down because i had a cracked infected tooth
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
Leaving an infected tooth untreated runs a serious risk of a far worse outcome than getting it fixed or pulled. The infection can get into the bone of either your jaw or your skull (depending on where the tooth is located), and the results can be very serious indeed if left untreated. You could potentially be looking at hospital and surgery, or even death if not treated.

Plus untreated dental infections are a known factor in coronary disease.
 
Last edited:

IreneF

Senior Member
Messages
1,552
Location
San Francisco
My 25-yr-old healthy son just had a root canal. It wiped him out for about a day. Not something I would want to have done, but I think it's better than risking abscesses or losing the tooth entirely.

If your tooth is pulled you can still get infections (happened to me). You can get an implant or a bridge to replace the tooth, otherwise your jaw can get screwed up as teeth move to fill the empty space. Personally, I would rather have the root canal.

My teeth are also in bad shape--thin enamel, exposed dentin, receded gums. I had to cancel my last appt. because my husband lost his job. I'm going to ask for gas next time because the whole thing is so traumatic.

Advice from the dentist: rinse with salt water/baking soda--about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per cup--after you eat or drink anything acidic, such as fruit. Get a sonicare toothbrush. Floss.
 
Messages
12
I have to second the not letting things go, regardless of how well you handle meds you should at least get a consult from a dentist. You don't want a bone infection in your jaw... The meds you'd get for that are far worse then a dental local.

You might be able to find a dentist that is the equivalent of a naturopath/alternative medicine doctor, they can be a little um... Interesting... (But all dentists can! Ha...) There are ways to get around things like full blown anesthesia etc. If you are seeing a primary care doc, naturopath, integrated med, or alternative medicine doc ask for them to refer you to a dentist, periodontist, or dental surgeon for a consult chances are they might know of a good one. When you make the appointment stress that you are not seeking treatment, just a consult and ask if they will see you for that.

My mom is a recently disabled dental hygienist, but I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Just imho, do whatever you can to prevent a bone infection, blood infection, sepsis, absess... Supplements just won't be enough. :(
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
You can get an implant or a bridge to replace the tooth, otherwise your jaw can get screwed up as teeth move to fill the empty space. Personally, I would rather have the root canal.
Me too. But it is very expensive, and the public dentist here doesn't have the funds to do root canals. :(

The dentist also told me that missing teeth are less of a problem for adults than for growing children, as far as keeping the shape of your mouth. Still a problem though.

Advice from the dentist: rinse with salt water/baking soda--about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per cup--after you eat or drink anything acidic, such as fruit. Get a sonicare toothbrush. Floss.
Rinsing (even with plain water) after eating or drinking almost anything goes a long way to controlling decay. Helps a lot of you avoid foods that are sticky, sweet, and acid, in the first place.

Not all sugars are equal when it comes to tooth decay. Erythritol, for example, cannot be processed by dental caries, so it does not contribute to tooth decay.

Flossing is good. But the little interdental brushes are even better. Only discovered them recently. Wish I had known about them much earlier.

Brushing your teeth before your eat (as well as after) is also a good way to help reduce decay, because it reduces the amount of plaque and bacteria before there is any food for them to feast on.

If you suffer from bruxism (grinding your teeth), especially at night when you can't control it, then get a bite plate (nocturnal splint) to stop the damage to the contact surface of the teeth. Grinding the hard enamel tops off your teeth opens the soft dentine underneath to infection that can travel down to the root canals. It has happened to me and is the main cause of my dental problems. I have ground the tops off all my teeth, and don't have the $30 000 or more needed to get them all fixed.

Just imho, do whatever you can to prevent a bone infection, blood infection, sepsis, absess... Supplements just won't be enough. :(
This. Persistent dental infections are not a trivial problem. Getting them treated early, even by getting the tooth pulled, is way less trouble and pain than leaving them to fester.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I know you think you are doing the right thing by protecting yourself by not going to dentist but the thing is your issue will get worst and cant be treated with just supplements and that. You will actually put more stress on your body with ending up with infections in your mouth to which you will end up having to then have more drugs and also see the dentist you are avoiding now but then with worst issues

The best thing you could do for yourself is go and see a dentist now before things get even worst. I know it seems like a bad decision but it will not be able to be avoided so do it now before you have more trouble.

you may be able to help yourself some by researching what not to allow the dentist to give you eg pain relief injections at dentist can be given without the adrenaline component added, it is that which often causes issues for ME patients (I found out that the hard way as I hadn't read up at the time the ME article online about anesthetics to avoid).

eg lidocaine is one dental injection to which the adrenaline component can be left out. I went into seizure activity when I had it with that but had no bad reaction at all the next time I went and got them to leave that component out.

ME issues nearly ruined my teeth. I went through times where my teeth actually went crumbly with bits of tooth coming off. Ive no idea why it did that but it happened a fews times I had episodes of that over a week day or week period to which after a short time my teeth would go back to normal.. Then the sports drinks a dr put me on for POTS, thinned my tooth enemal to the point where I was told I may end up having to wear guards at night.

Delying dental treatment costed me a lot of extra money as instead of a filling, I then ended up needing a cap which was very expensive and they didn't know if the tooth would die or not. (Amazingly I still have all my teeth).

anyway, find yourself the artical on ME and the recommended anaethestia drugs to avoid and then get yourself to a dentist. (note I have seen a holistic dentist clinic which didn't use drugs at all but rather used hypnosis instead so that may be another possibility).
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
@douglasmich I wonder if you would be able to handle a light sedation while getting your wisdom teeth out. I am sensitive to meds of many kinds but handled tooth extraction ok. I was fortunate to get all my teeth out at the hospital due to my concerns about my ME.

I thought I was going to get the heavy kind of sedation that takes days to recover from but I woke up feeling normal. They had given me a light sedation. The funny thing was they asked me when I woke up if I had felt anything, I said no. I must have moaned and groaned through it perhaps for them to ask me that.

I don't know where you live, or whether you have discussed all the possibilities of treatment with a dentist. Your local hospital may have a dentistry department where they will see people like you. And try and work around things for you.
 

douglasmich

Senior Member
Messages
311
Thanks for the replies.

Id know if i have an infection right? I got an abcess a month ago but oregano oil got rid of it
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
Not necessarily. Infections can burn slow and quiet when in the bone. Don't know about in your blood.

I am dealing with exactly this problem right now. Getting the occasional abscess on one tooth, can't leave it much longer to get it checked. At least an x-ray to find out what is going on, but no money to fix it, can only afford to get it pulled. :meh:

But can afford any infection spreading even less. :eek:
 

Rvanson

Senior Member
Messages
312
Location
USA
Phosphorus is also important for dental health and bones, though I rarely see it mentioned. Do a google search. Dairy products tend to be high in phosphorus.

Also CoQ10 is supposed to be very good for gum health.

So is vitamin C.
 

PNR2008

Senior Member
Messages
613
Location
OH USA
Since having complex migraines from 11 years on I never took novacaine because the numbness made me feel like a migraine was coming on and sometimes it did. I used biofeedback while my dentist drilled away, then after age 21 I'd have an alcoholic drink or wine later as a reward and I could stand that better than the numbness from novacaine.

Of course this didn't work with tooth extraction or root canal and my dentist was cautious taking many breaks and going slowly. After the onset of ME/CFS/FM this no longer worked, I experienced so much pain with these illnesses that I could no longer tolerate any tooth or jaw pain and numbness usually wore off in bed as any dentist visit was so tiring that's where I was after arriving home.

New pain pathways were created and that was the end of my meditation in the dentist chair. Also I might add that most dentists are more uncomfortable working without numbing meds because if they hit a nerve you could end up with a hole in your lip. I applaud anyone getting dental work done with this disease it isn't easy but a necessary evil.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Thanks for the replies.

Id know if i have an infection right? I got an abcess a month ago but oregano oil got rid of it
The infections that I have had have always throbbed and ached and made me miserable. And so naturally sending me off to the dentist as soon as possible. The dentist would always squeeze me in the same day when I had a throbbing infected tooth. Pays to get on to it in case it gets into the bone as others have said.

I get an ache in my lower left jaw when my ME is flaring. It's has always been one of those signs of deterioration for me. I often had thought I had an infection in my jaw bone. Before I had my teeth out an x-ray showed a piece of amalgam filling that was left behind when I had a single tooth out one year. I asked my dentist if he could go back in and remove the piece of amalgam.

While removing the amalgam he told me that I had a cavity in my gum. I'm not sure if that causes the ache I get in my jaw. I know other ME's get the same particular ache at times in the jaw so it could be a lymphatic, nerve thing or salivary glands.
 
Last edited:

boohealth

Senior Member
Messages
243
Location
south
Extracting a tooth, by a skilled practitioner, can take about a minute or two. He will loosen it from the ligaments that hold it and it will come right out. You can take light IV sedation (versed) if you think you can't tolerate carbocaine. You will heal surprisingly quickly.