Anyone With Teeth Issues? Suddenly Brittle/sensitive?

[AllAboutPeace]

Over the past several weeks, I've noticed that my teeth seem really brittle. I eat almonds and seeds and it feels like my teeth are going to snap off...yikes!! This is a sudden change because I've been eating them all along.

Also, they are suddenly extremely sensitive to everything - even lukewarm water if I swish it around. I've always taken really good care of my teeth, but brushing now isnt a pleasant experience with all of the sensitivity.

I'm taking Florinef .125/day and I'm wondering if this has something to do with calcium loss from that(???).

Anyone else have this issue come up suddenly? Any ideas?

I'm tempted to grab some tools from the workshop and start pulling...you'll never see a profile pic of me up there if i do that...lol.

[Cala]

I think the Florinif salt and water is really just turning us into sponges and we are just rippling when we bite into something. Bwahahaha!

I think we all need to go live in a pineapple under the sea! :-)

Sorry, I couldn't resist, forgive me

[kayjay]

I'm sorry that you are having tooth issues.

I have read that problems with gluten can effect teeth. I was told that I had "IBS". I believe that I was having problems with gluten and fructose. If you're not absorbing all of your nutrients you can have tooth problems.

I just was at the dentist and she recommended the lysterine with floride. I know it's gross tmi, but if I'm really sick I don't want to brush. You can also get it without the alcohol it the stinging bothers you.

There is also a gum called "SPRY" which is good for your teeth. I forget the details but it was explained to me because I tend to have dry mouth. It prevents decay.

I eat a lot of hard cheese and have read that that is healthy. Also if I'm "sick" I rinse my mouth out as soon as possible. This probably sounds simplistic but anything acidic can be bad for your teeth. All sodas, tomatoes, citrus, etc are acidic. The dentist told me that some people damage their teeth by sucking on lemons.

I cannot offer any information about the florinef. Hopefully you can figure this out.

I haven't had a ever cavity or problems but I think that it's sometimes genetic. My husband has had cavities and a chipped tooth. It's unpleasant to say the least.

[Katybug]

Dry mouth, common amongst potsies due to dehydration, can cause tooth decay. My dentist has me use the various biotene products to help lessen my dry mouth. Meds can also cause dry mouth. Also, I don't know if you have any suspicion of having EDS but many EDSers have brittle teeth and lots of dental problems. I don't have brittle teeth but I do have extreme sensitivity but only when I have a migraine. I don't think brittleness is associated with migraine but sensitivity is along with feeling like you have tmj but only for the duration of the migraine. I haven't heard of Florinef causing this but there are so many side effects drugs can cause you might need to research that. Going on drugs.com or rxlist.com doesn't always give you all the side effects. I'm on a drug (in fact the only known drug group) that can cause a biotin deficiency but nothing in the pharmacy info or even basic online info listed that. But when I cross referenced searches for biotin deficiency and each of my meds, I found info on my drug. You might have to search your meds that way just to be sure.

[badhbt]

That is weird that you mention the sensitivity. For the past couple of weeks brushing my teeth has been painful. I never related it to POTS. It isn't like one side, it is all of them.

I am not on Florinef though.

[Guest Hanice]

YES. I have exTREME sudden tooth sensitivities aswell. I knew it was related to pots but not sure how. It comes to me at night and by the morning its gone. Has only happened twice but it was severe.

The reason why I k ew it wasn't my teeth is because it wasn't specific teeth, it was more like certain areas that were vulnerable. I mean, I couldn't talk without them hurting like crazy.

[cberau]

Yes! This all started happening when my POTS started getting extreme in 2010, and I had never had a cavity, chipped a tooth, had any sensitivity at all. November 2009 all teeth perfect, clean, not soft. Once POTS kicked in and I started vomiting like 10 times a week, making sure I brushed like crazy afterwards and drank plenty of water to wash away the acid, I had 7 cavities by May 2010. My teeth are trashed like a meth addict now.

[KareBear]

My teeth are very fragile now and they were always perfect up until a couple years ago. I dont eat hard foods or candies now. I have chipped 2 of my back teeth on 2 separate occasions and each time I wasn't chewing on anything hard. I think it is from dry mouth or it could be from EDS in my case. Either way its frustrating.

[Angela]

if you are on medications that causes dry mouth which can be a cause.

[sue1234]

I had a tooth just break apart when eating sunflower seeds on the opposite side of my mouth! Other than that, my teeth seem sturdy.

Sensitivity is awful. One thing that 100% causes it in me is taking any kind of vitamin C. Just taking the pills will cause all my teeth to feel like a nerve is being touched, like an electrical shock. It is awful. I know vitamin C is needed for collagen, so maybe it is doing something to the collagen in my teeth sockets. I just can't handle it.

[AllAboutPeace]

Thank you so much everyone for your helpful tips and stories

I saw my dentist this morning (and had a cleaning...Owww!...still sore)

The dentist said that he has no idea what's going on. He did the air-on-the-teeth test to find out where it's sensitive and he could see that it is everywhere which gives him nothing to work with. He said he'd have to work on or remove a minimum of seven teeth to start with and he's not about to do that at this point! He can't say if its irreversible or a temporary problem without knowing more. He said normally they'd look at teeth grinding at night, however, I don't fit the profile for that (no jaw issues/obvious stressor/signs of it)so he doesn't think that's the problem.

He said my teeth are definitely 'hyper-sensitive' and that the brittle-ness goes along with that. They applied a desensitizer today and gave me more desensitizing toothpaste (which I was already using) and wants me to try that for a week or two. He said it could be an issue with the nerves themselves.

Re: dry mouth. I don't feel like I have dry mouth at all. I do drink water all day and feel thirsty, but have never noticed my mouth being dry. The dentist also said that there are no cavities or decay which can be related to dryness.

I don't fit the profile for EDS, either.

Re: Florinef

I found this on Rxlist.com:

"Fludrocortisone makes your body hold on to salt (sodium) and get rid of other salts (e.g., calcium, potassium). Follow your doctor's advice on how much salt, potassium, and calcium should be in your diet."

And this on drugs.com:

"Periodic checking of serum electrolyte levels is advisable during prolonged therapy; dietary salt restriction and potassium supplementation may be necessary. All corticosteroids increase calcium excretion."

I definitely don't want to try to falsely pin it on Florinef, as it may be coincidental, but the timing of it seems to go along with when the Florinef benefits kicked in for me - about 7-8 weeks after restarting the med. I know that low blood calcium will cause the body to steal calcium from bones, but I wasn't sure about teeth. The dentist said they shouldn't lose calcium, but it could possibly have an effect on the bones around the teeth.

Either way, it's probably a good idea to have some bloodwork done. Calcium's a tough one because you can't absorb it without Vit D and I tried Vit D supplementation and didnt tolerate it...

[sue1234]

AllAboutPeace, can I ask what reaction you had to vitamin D? I am forcing myself to take it occasionally(prescription strength), but I feel awful for a few days afterwards. It makes me feel like a bundle of adrenaline. It also makes me have more hypoglycemia episodes that are not totally responsible for all the adrenaline feeling. It also makes all my joints hurt and stiff.

[AllAboutPeace]

AllAboutPeace, can I ask what reaction you had to vitamin D? I am forcing myself to take it occasionally(prescription strength), but I feel awful for a few days afterwards. It makes me feel like a bundle of adrenaline. It also makes me have more hypoglycemia episodes that are not totally responsible for all the adrenaline feeling. It also makes all my joints hurt and stiff.

Sue,

I'm attaching this link to a post about " prescription strength Vit D" - partly because I thought there may be something helpful or informative for you and partly because I really couldn't remember exactly how it affected me until I looked up this post (Pots brain!) My Sister-in-law/nutritionist did say that I should try another brand in case it was a 'filler' that I was reacting too, but I've just haven't felt like experimenting again...yet. As long as I can get in the sun, I'm doing that, but later in the fall/winter is the time I'll have to try again with a different brand.

I was only on a small dose compared to Rx strength. Are you able to tolerate a smaller amount at all?

http://forums.dinet.org/index.php?/topic/22720-prescription-strength-vitamin-d/page-2?hl=%20vitamin%20%20d%20%20lmg

[sue1234]

I get issues with either of the two kinds of D...both OTC D3 and prescr. D2. So, I just take the prescr. for 10,000 IU. If I'm going to feel bad even on 1000 OTC, I'd just go ahead and get in more at a time! My levels over the last few years tank into the teens unless I take something, and then they only reach around the low 30s. I'd love to reach the 50s or 60s and see how I felt. I've been low for so many, many years, that's my goal.

[AllAboutPeace]

That's brutal, Sue! Your strategy makes sense though - might as well get more in if you have to feel terrible anyway. Are you able to boost your levels at all with sunshine?

My docs won't check Vit D levels and just say everyone needs to supplement. I think now that I have some calcium questions, I will push for D levels to be checked.

[AllAboutPeace]

I think the Florinif salt and water is really just turning us into sponges and we are just rippling when we bite into something. Bwahahaha!

I think we all need to go live in a pineapple under the sea! :-)

Sorry, I couldn't resist, forgive me

Cala,

I burst out laughing when I read this

...then

I realized that I actually feel ALOT like SpongeBob...sure, I may not LOOK like him to other people, (hopefully, at least) But, ya...all spongy and waterlogged. And while my pants aren't exactly square, they don't fit the way they used to, for sure

...plus, the water pressure from under the sea would help with blood pooling...

[Terrier]

Funny this topic should have been made so recently - I just searched the forum to see if anyone else had dental issues and if they might be POTS-related!

My father is 61 and he's never had a filling nor anything done to his teeth whatsoever.. Dentists think he's some sort of freak. My sister is 38 and she's the same. I was too until I started feeling generally unwell and since that time my teeth have degenerated very quickly indeed to the point where the last dentist I saw said after doing several fillings that I won't have any enamel left at all in twenty years if they keep going at the same rate. My teeth are very yellow because of the lack of enamel which isn't great for the old confidence.

My best guess is that it's from the constant dry mouth.. For the last few years I've drunk around two litres of fluids a day but I'm still always thirsty. Not sure what more I can do really.

[blueskies]

Hi Allaboutpeadce,

Some years ago I posted to another POTS site (now defunct) about my terrible teeth but no one had this problem and I thought it was just specific to me. I've needed to have so much work done despite brushing, flossing and using an interdens brush. (I've been flossing since my 20s when floss came on the market in Australia -- I'm now 57). I've had a number of teeth removed, have dental implants, caps and lots of fillings and a few years ago my gums started to shrink quite suddenly and rapidly and strangley, given that I do all the right things to prevent this.

I don't fit the EDS profile either.

I'm currently aware that I have a couple of cavities and am hoping that I can hold out visiting the dentist until after we have moved house (in a month's time) when I'll be living much closer to his surgery. I'm virtually housebound at the moment (have been for two years this time) and am currently living too far from my dentist to make it easy to see him. Fingers crossed that I get to move house, have a bit of time to recover from the move and then I will be seeing the dentist. I don't want to see another dentist because I now have to start taking cortisone tabs before and during dental work as I seem to be developing an allergy to the anaethetic (no adrenalin). I've been seeing this dentist for about 12 years and he's not going to think I'm weird because he's been just as perplexed as to why this is happening to my teeth, so a new allergy to the anaesthic is not going to shock him. This gets so old, doesn't it. I'm probably going to end up and old woman with all false teeth. I tell myself that really that's not so bad but it used to be one of my worst nightmares. Now it's just one of my many 'worst nightmares'.

My four sisters all have beautiful teeth with no problems and no pots. Yet I'm the one who is the diligent flosser. I had to educate them all in the importance of flossing. Go figure! I've truly looked after my teeth as best as I can yet they continue to deteriorate alarmingly.

blue

[Bambamjr2013]

I've been having this issue as we'll all my Crowned teeth are very sensitive as we'll.