Good Article on Dental Work

I would like to weigh in on this a bit as well. This is to neither agree or disagree with the article, only my view. There is a lot of great information in that article!!

My teeth have never been good for as far back as I can remember. I pretty much grew up seeing a dentist a ton. As things played out, without a diganosis of Lyme to help me understand what was happening to me, I ended up with my teeth cracking, breaking and splitting - not to mention cavities.

So by age 26, I had my first upper denture. Boy, was I self conscience! But it was so much better than all the poison I had in my body from rotting teeth!! I actually felt so much better that I began to wonder if that was all that I had been dealing with. Of course it wasn't, and the rest of my teeth continued to fall apart. I believe strongly that Lyme kept me from having strong enamel on my adult teeth, since I had Lyme before I had even lost my baby teeth.

Eventually (last year), I had gotten to the point where I had had dentures so long that I was loosing a lot of bone mass in my lower jaw. When there are no teeth to stimulate bone growth, it deteriorates and you lose the bone. I had gotten to the point that not one single dentist or oral surgeon would consider giving me a new denture because I simply didn't have enough bone, and the denture that I was using, of course, no longer fit well and was creating other issues. The good news (Ha!) was that I didn't need a bone transplant, only implants so that I could prevent further bone loss and end up with a broken jaw from just rolling over in bed and then surgery to place plates and screws and then more of the same, since nothing would be generating bone growth.

I barely found an oral surgeon I trusted to do titanium implants - which I see are spoken of in a bad light in this article. I had to take those things into consideration, but also that I had no other options available to me, so I took the plunge and got the titanium implants in my lower jaw - 3 of them - June 18, 2015.

For those that are unaware of what I've been dealing with the last 2 years, I have severe adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism, brought on by much too much stress immediately after I healed from my infections (which is why I preach about keeping stress low!!!). Although I have been in treatment for these things for the last 19 months, when I had the dental implants done, I took a really hard hit to my health - not because of the implants specifically, but because of the stress on my body from having that done. I still haven't gotten back to where I was before implant surgery.

Sorry for that rabbit hole! Anyway, I was on a liquid and super soft food only diet for the last 9 weeks - definitely not for the faint of heart!! But 2 out of the 3 implants have healed very well. We are waiting for another month to allow the last implant to heal more before I get my new denture that will attach to these implants - they don't want stress on the implant while it's healing. They did modify my old denture so I could use it, so I'm back to being able to (carefully) chew my food!!! Ohhh sweet food!! LOL!

My hope is that it will keep me from having any more bone loss. I didn't have the choice of metals, but I did it anyway.

I know Garden Peace well enough to know that she would almost certainly agree that sometimes you have to do what you have to do under these types of circumstances, so I hope she doesn't mind me posting this either, since I'm living this now.

So curious being we are talking about teeth. I have always, my entire life, had sensitive teeth. But since the last year (after my traumatic cervical spine surgery which I have come to the conclusion was what brought my Lyme to a head) my teeth are extremely sensitive. So bad that I cant even get myself to go to the dentist, because the thought of them putting anything metal on my teeth to scrape and clean them will put me through the roof. Is this a common trait of Lyme, or am I having issues with something else? I have not had a cavity in years, however, many of my old teeth that were filled in my younger years deteriorated enough to need 6 crowns. But my last crown was 3 yrs ago. I have a dry mouth as well as well as dry eyes, and the more I read, I think these both are lyme related? Am I correct? And.......does anyone have any suggestions of going to the dentist? As I definitely would rather give birth than have my teeth worked on. Thanks!

Charliebug.

Trav, one thing to remember about eating a high protein diet is that protein is an acid. The body uses phosphates to buffer the acids. The phosphates are pulled from bone in the form of calcium phosphate. Calcium and phosphate are both sacrificed to preserve the body's pH. The more acids one eats, the more calcium and phosphate they lose.

Some dentists will check for bio-compatibility. I want to find one who does so I don't end up with something in my mouth that will give me more problems. I hope they can just take out the fillings and replace them with something else, without the teeth breaking in the process.

Candle, I hope you're appt. goes well.

Georgia Hunter said...
Trav, one thing to remember about eating a high protein diet is that protein is an acid. The body uses phosphates to buffer the acids. The phosphates are pulled from bone in the form of calcium phosphate. Calcium and phosphate are both sacrificed to preserve the body's pH. The more acids one eats, the more calcium and phosphate they lose.

My calcium loss start a VERY long time ago - long before any attempts of eating a high protein diet, back when I was a very young child. I grew up with issues due to having Lyme from the age of 7.

Garden Peace said...
My daughter with Lyme is the same way. Going to the dentist is not something she enjoys. I want her to try essential oils to help her relax. I don't know if they would help or not, but it's worth a try.

Hi Garden Peace;

I am hugely into essential oils. Have been for almost 2 years. And although Clove essential oil numbs my mouth somewhat, I still have this uneasy feeling that I wont be able to do it, unless they gas me up to the hilt and almost knock me out. I have a lot of different oils I use for relaxing and they do work. Essential oils are our life. I got my daughter with autism off her 13 rx pills per day by researching and coming up with a daily protocol of essential oils. She is doing amazing, so, have your daughter give them a try for relaxation. Although I know it wont be enough for me.

Charliebug