Dental problems too!!!

I also took great care of my teeth. Now they chip and break off. I find myself eating softer foods because I'm afraid one will break. Ive had so many root canals and just recently had to have a tooth surgically removed and a dry socket because of it. I never knew what these pain meds would cost me. Now my front teeth are starting to chip and I don't smile anymore. Its awful and depressing. I mean its bad enough that we deal with the pain day in and day out. So we take medication to relieve it only to turn around and loose our teeth. So sad and frustrating. But, we do what we can do to get by. At least, I do anyway. Sorry I went on and on about this. It just upsets me that there is one more thing to add to the list. I know I will eventually lose all of my teeth. But like so many others have said, I will just be satisfied with dentures.

Getting off of the podium now. Thanks to all who read this. :)

I added a heading to your post.....Susie

Post Edited By Moderator (straydog) : 9/22/2013 8:55:04 PM (GMT-6)

So frustration and not a thing we can do about it. I have a lot of gumline cavities. Do you have those, David? I have always had such great teeth. I never thought I would find myself in this position.

Thank you, Susie! :)

Hi Stephanie, I had many gumline cavities when I still had teeth. I think the biggest problem causing that or what the Oral surgeon said, Im in a constant state of extreme thirst and all the time day and night. I would go through a case of soda in 2 days as well as that good old sweet tea and even kept one or the other bedside as I would wake up and drink all during the night. There's the problem, drinking sweet, sugary liquids just prior to or during sleep leaves that nice sugary residue sitting in your mouth all night eating away at the base of your teeth.

Many many years ago I battled kidney stones for years, it was a nightmare. The pathology report came back and my Urologist said it was very common for Kentuckians that had drank well water all their lives in my area due to it lying on a limestone fault. It was scary and I stopped drinking water for a very longtime! I wouldn't even drink the bottled spring water out of Highbridge. Back then there wasn't all the bottled water like now.

To this day I literally have to force myself to drink water at all. The Dentist said the last thing that should be in your mouth as you fall asleep is toothpaste, mouthwash, or water. No food, drink or even gum.

I dont know about you but that wasn't a habit I had unfortunately and I paid with my teeth.

So there are some things you can do to help but sadly its just a fact that eventually for most, the medicine will win.

In 2004 when I had my BMT, I got addicted to drinking water while in the hospital. It had to be bottled water as I had no immune system, they would not let us patients drink tap water due to not knowing what may be in the water pipes. So after I came home from the hospital, I still drank only bottled water.

Our town has a limestone quarry that is very large. There is limestone in our tap water and we constantly feel the vibrations from them doing their blasting. A lot of the homes here have basements and they are even collapsing walls and cracking cement blocks - all due to the limestone quarry blasting. So I still drink only bottled water.

I have gradually switched during the day to Sprite Zero or Diet 7up, for some reason it has to be a clear soda with no caffeine. Nightly, I switch back to water only as soda goes flat overnight.

Even with good mouth hygiene this has not saved my teeth. So I have definitely come to the conclusion that my tooth decay has been caused by the dry mouth and the meds.

Trudy

My dentist told me of a cure for dry mouth; he swears by it! He said to buy lemon drop candy with Xylitol. He said to be sure and buy the lemon drops that contain no sugar! He said the Xylitol (spelling?) helps one's mouth to salivate, even hours after you are through with the lemon drops. I am going to try them; you can buy a large bag of lemon drops at Costco (inexpensive). Let me know if you have tried this!

When I was recovering from the severe dry mouth symptoms post neck and throat radiation, the oncologist at the time had me eat green seedless grapes. Not only did it help on the dry mouth part, but he said there was some nature agent in green grapes that was soothing (can't remember what it was), but it really helped at the time since my throat and mouth were so raw for several months after the treatments ended.

David

David,

There's exactly what's going on where we now live, here in NH. There is high radon in the water, from the granite as you pointed out.

I find I cannot stomach the well water. And, also like you, I drink a lot, a real lot, of water! And I do not drink things like sugary soda or juice, only rarely an iced coffee. The OTC "dry mouth" products did nothing for me, ever.

I fought that losing battle, trying to save my teeth. The problem was that by eating only soft foods, usually involving simple carbs, THOSE foods stick to your teeth and actually contribute to the decay...the easy-to-eat foods like pasta or soft bread, any kind of sticky starch,...with bad teeth, we try to chew softly and use our tongues.

But that sticky residue still creeps in and does more damage than straight sugar.

All the years I went through, thinking having bad teeth, but real teeth, was somehow better than dentures... Wish I didn't think that way. Having strong, functional dentures, feeling confident you can smile and chew, is much more healthy and attractive than "real" teeth that are bad ever will be.

The other thing adding to tooth loss is when we stop eating crunchy veggies and such, we stop stimulating the jaw bone, and it weakens the tooth anchor. It's a vicious cycle actually.

I only wish I didn't wait this long and spend so many years eating soft food and not smiling and getting miserable and severely damaging my family's finances just to fight a battle of my ego when I realized as "real" as my teeth were, they looked, and felt, like hell. They were embarrassing and not functional.


Merrida