Dental Problems and MC

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LindyLou
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Dental Problems and MC

Post by LindyLou »

In reading through the polls, I came across an interesting one regarding root canals and think I may have stumbled upon something I can possibly correlate to my LC. While pregnant with my last child, I cracked a lower left molar. I waited to have treatment until after the delivery of my son. When I went to the dentist, she performed a root canal but within a week, I developed an infection in it and ended up going to a specialist to have it opened up and drained. Since that time I have had numerous problems with my teeth and the bone surrounding them. Two areas in particular are pretty serious. Having just gone through a third surgery on each due to severe bone loss, it now looks like I'm going to lose them. At times, my teeth hurt so bad that it is painful to close my mouth completely. Also at those times I notice I'm usually in a severe flare of LC. Can anyone else share some insight on this? I have mentioned it to my periodontist on occasion but that was when I was misdiagnosed with chrones disease and he didn't know of any correlation. I have an appointment to see him on Sept. 1st, and would like to print out any information which may help.
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Post by JLH »

I unknowingly got an infection under a tooth that had a root canal. Tried to save it with another root canal but it didn't work and had to have it pulled.

When I saw that poll, I thought that could have been my trigger.....

While I was under anesthesia, the oral surgeon gave me the drug I had specifically asked him not to give me! I learned about that drug here on the PP.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.

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tex
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Post by tex »

Linda,

Are you by any chance taking a bishosphonate, such as Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, etc.? If you are, the drug is almost certainly the cause of your jawbone issues. Such infections are a serious risk of this class of drugs. Those drugs prevent the body from removing diseased bone tissue, so that it can be replaced with new, healthy bone tissue.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by LindyLou »

No Tex, I'm not currently or ever have been on any of the drugs you listed.
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Post by tex »

Hmmmmmmm. I thought that might be the problem, but obviously, it isn't.

Years of untreated gluten-sensitivity causes damage to tooth enamel, and weakens the teeth, eventually leading to cracking, splitting, breakage, etc., and it definitely causes increased bone porosity, (osteopenia and/or osteoporosis), but it shouldn't lead to bone infections, so I'm not sure what's going on there. Was your white cell count in the normal range on your last CBC?

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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by LindyLou »

I've been told the actual infection isn't in the bone itself but around the root which is causing the bone to deteriorate. All of the surgeries I have had is to remove infection around the root, but it never seems to heal completely. The periodontist thinks the bone loss is stress related as the wearing away is diagonal instead of horizontal.
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Post by tex »

Linda wrote:All of the surgeries I have had is to remove infection around the root, but it never seems to heal completely.
The reason why healing is so difficult to achieve, is because there is no way to get an antibiotic into a dead tooth, so that if it is infected, it continues to provide an endless source of bacteria.

If I recall correctly, (without going back and looking up that post that you referred to), a root canal seals any existing bacteria in the tooth. If that tooth becomes damaged in the future, (which is likely, for someone who is gluten sensitive, because gluten weakens the enamel, thereby making the tooth brittle, and subject to cracking), then some of those bacteria will be able to leech out, and initiate or prolong an infection. I'm pretty sure that the problem is a perpetual source of bacteria, that antibiotics cannot access, rather than stress. I don't see how stress can cause an infection. Stress can certainly weaken the effectiveness of our immune system, by lowering our resistance, but an actual, physical pathogen, is always required, to initiate the infection.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by natythingycolbery »

You know...

I had a filling put in a tooth (which didn't hurt btw!!!) in 2002... which went wrong! The dentist blamed it on the fact I had braces at the time so she couldn't fill it properly, so she then had to do a root canal when my tooth had become infected. When doing my root canal she could only find 2 of my roots (she blamed this on the fact i actually have small teeth) and guess what... SHE DID IT WRONG AGAIN! So i had a SECOND ROOT CANAL done about 5 years ago... IT STILL HURTS now!

I went back to the Dentist in 2009 (I hate dentists now) as it was causing a ridiculous amount of pain to me....

Guess what i was told...


... :band:

There is a chronic infection under it. BUT they have given me no treatment for it at all...

I am only just now going back to try and sort it all out because it is getting ridiculous... I can't eat food without being in agony!

But I wonder if this is actually the cause of ALL my health problems... i was perfectly health before 2002...
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LindyLou
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Post by LindyLou »

I'm wondering the same thing as you Naty. There is a poll Tex posted a while back concerning root canals and infections. I've printed the information out and am taking it back to my periodontist on the 1st of September. I've been through so many surgeries in the last 8 years that I'm ready to have him start pulling these problematic teeth. Maybe it will improve my MC in the process.
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Post by tex »

Katy,

As far as I can tell, dentistry is the only segment of the medical profession that embraces the concept of keeping dead, gangrenous tissue in the body.

You might be interested in this article:

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/rootcana ... pr04.shtml

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by Deb »

Wow, Tex. That's a pretty disturbing article. I've had one root canal and that area of my mouth has never felt normal since.....I wonder what might be lurking. :sad:
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natythingycolbery
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Post by natythingycolbery »

What???

I am not impressed!!!!!
'The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.' Horace Bushnell

Diagnosed with MC (LC) Aug 2010
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Post by Polly »

Hi LindyLou and :welcome:

Arrrrgh! Teeth! I am the poster child for dental problems, I believe. I have always had poor enamelization of my secondary teeth - the lower incisors were actually pitted from the day they first erupted. This, I have read, can be due to gluten sensitivity, although I was not diagnosed with it until decades later. Also, I am missing all 4 wisdom teeth and two other secondary teeth - they just were never there to come in.

As a child I had many fillings due to my soft teeth and learned to hate the dentist. As an adult I have had multiple root canals. Several years ago I had a sinus lift procedure to prepare for an implant. It was a disaster - I got a chronic sinus infection that necessitated months of antibiotics (a horror for MCers) and 2 sinus surgeries to clear up. BTW, the sinus problem was due solely to the dental procedure - I have never had respiratory allergies or sinus problems before or since.

Last year I tried an implant in another location in my mouth (an area where a secondary tooth had never erupted) with a different dentist and it was also a disaster. After many months of rejecting it, it had to be removed. My dentist said it is highly unusual for anyone to reject a titanium post.

So, I am no longer considering implants - it's back to bridgework for me.

With this history, you can imagine how stressful it is for me to go to the dentist. I DREAD it. I really believe that my gluten sensitivity has had a lot to do with my poor dental experiences. All of my life, I've been the "worst case scenario" in the dentist's office. Even for routine procedures the visit would end up taking twice as long as the dentist had scheduled. Sigh.

Regarding the effects of stress on dental problems, grinding your teeth during the day and/or overnight can create a set-up for dental problems. It causes them to loosen, which changes the architecture and can results in infection and other problems. I have worn a night/mouth guard for years now.

Good luck with your molars - keep us posted.

Hugs,

Polly
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Post by LindyLou »

Hi Polly,
Wow, what a nightmare you have been through! I have tried to hard to take care of my teeth and nothing I do seems to help. I even go in for a cleaning 4 time/year. At a young age I had a dentist who looked like the dentist in the movie The Marathon Man. He scared the @#$ out of me. "Is it safe? Is it safe?" If you have seen this film those words will make you tremble right down to your booties :newshocked: I had 2 surgeries 4 weeks ago and the outcome wasn't good. I can't even chew on the left side of my mouth because one molar is very loose. The other tooth is my right front top tooth and is now quite sensitive to cold drinks and also loose. That one will eventually need to be taken out also. I just hate the thought of having to go to work with a missing front tooth. Not very professional looking at work.

Sigh........................
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