Teeth and MC

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:33 pm

as many have discussed the teeth issues that come with MC are not fun, to all the newbies, up your calcium and Vit D3 intake and look after your teeth!!

3-4 weeks ago during my scope prep, one of my molers started playing up, i just wanted a couple of weeks post the scopes and treatments to recouperate and then i was going to have it seen to. It was an impatient little bugger and gave me no choice but to go and have it seen to.

long story short the only option was to pull it out, it broke during this process and left the roots behind.
expensive CT scan later and an appointment with an oral surgeon is that i am going into day hospital to have the roots removed and any other suspect molers in this area.

the woo hoo moment of this is the orgal surgeon is awesome, he has quite a few crohns and UC patients and understood what i meant by sensitive digestion system and knew what meds were 'safe'. We discussed MC and he said that he felt that the use of diet ie strict gluten free etc was not encouraged enough for people with IBD's.

given my month of medical stuff, he and the anethatist are only charging the schedule fee so there will be no out of pocket expenses to me (it will be covered by my private medical coverage)

i walked away thinking, if an oral surgeon can 'get it' about MC and IBD's why cant other doctors??

i am not feeling the best, aside from the pain in my gums, jaw and sinus, my digestion system is not coping well with the infection/inflammation/stress that the body is incurring.

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:52 pm

Gabes,

I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well - but so glad you're in good hands. I hope getting this tooth problem behind you will help you restore to full strength and vitality quickly.

And thank you for the nudge, I shall schedule my long-overdue dentist appointment!

Love,
Sara

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:02 pm

Hi there Gabes, I can fully appreciate the dental issues related to MC and my 3 molars that were victims of MC.

I am glad you found a good oral surgeon, and your right if he can get it why can't your GP or GI understand the issues as well. It has never ceased to amaze me how variable the levels of competency has been when it comes to MC

My oral surgeon while technically competent in his own field, could and would not accept the fact that someone could not take NSAIDs like ibuprofen or aspirin. I had to while in pain arrange for a conference call between them.

Hopefully soon I can get the last dental implant done so I can chew properly again.

I am so glad that you have found a good doc and a way though this with as minimal of cost as possible. It has surprised me that even with insurance how expensive this can be. MC certainly is hard on our dental health and budgets.

Best wishes Gabes and thanks for the update... My next surgery is to get the final dental implant done.

Joe

Post by **tex** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:27 pm

Gabes,

I've wondered the same thing. We can sometimes find knowledge and understanding in unexpected places, but we rarely find it where we need it the most - in our GI specialists.

I guess that's supposed to make life interesting.

I hope the surgery and the recovery go as smoothly as possible. Have you scheduled a time, yet?

Tex

LindyLou · Post by **LindyLou** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:32 pm

Oh Gabes, I'm so sorry you're going through this. The dental problems associated with MC can be awful and so frustrating. I do hope your surgery goes well and the recovery speedy. Are you going to have a bridge or an implant? I'm facing that choice here in the very near future and can't decide which is best for me.

Linda

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:36 pm

tex wrote:We can sometimes find knowledge and understanding in unexpected places, but we rarely find it where we need it the most - in our GI specialists.

I grow increasingly persuaded that this is because MC is not a GI disease at all. (Nor is celiac, according to my new rules.)

Linda, good luck with your choice - I had 'made up my mind' what I would do if I were facing that decision, but I know it's very different when it's actually a dilemma right before you.

Post by **tex** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:48 pm

Sara wrote:I grow increasingly persuaded that this is because MC is not a GI disease at all. (Nor is celiac, according to my new rules.)

Hmmmmmm. That's an interesting viewpoint. There's no question that the original description of MC falls woefully short of reality. The sad part is that by the current description, only gastroenterologists can obtain the biopsies to diagnose it. And unfortunately, they don't know how to treat it. Other specialists who know how to treat it, can't diagnose it.

Tex

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:55 pm

Gabes,
I am so sorry about your dental problems. That is unpleasantness at both ends.

When your mouth hurts, everything hurts.
I hope everything goes well and you heal quickly after your surgery.

Hugs and feel better soon,
Nancy

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 7:05 pm

Hi Gabes,

Sorry you're having a rough time - pain is no fun, and especially when it comes to teeth. I'll be in the dental chair on Thursday for a "root cleaning". Last time I went for a check-up, there had been an unusual amount of bone loss, so they recommended this procedure.

Lot's of luck to you - hope it goes well and you'll be back to normalcy soon. Please keep us posted.

Love,
Kari

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:09 pm

tex wrote:
Sara wrote:I grow increasingly persuaded that this is because MC is not a GI disease at all. (Nor is celiac, according to my new rules.)
Hmmmmmm. That's an interesting viewpoint. There's no question that the original description of MC falls woefully short of reality. The sad part is that by the current description, only gastroenterologists can obtain the biopsies to diagnose it. And unfortunately, they don't know how to treat it. Other specialists who know how to treat it, can't diagnose it.

Tex

LOL, Tex - you have elevated my little philosophical dilemma to a whole new level - I owe you some thinking on how to dig us out of this. I think we're pointing in the direction of something important, actually, and not just about MC....

And Kari, I am sorry to hear about your root cleaning. I hope it's brief and a lot less concerning than it sounds.

Love,
Sara

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:02 am

Tex and Sara
i am loving your discussion and can not agree more,
the tooth issue occurring was because of compromised digestion, and now the tooth issue is causing digestion problems.
the past three months i have felt like I am stuck on a merry go round, i am moving but not moving forwards

thank you Sara, Tex, Joe, Lindylou, Kari, Nancy, for your support

i have decided that
a) tooth out is not always better than sore tooth in
b) teeth, gum issues are way way worse than acid reflux and hemorrhoids ; and
c) the jury is still out about which is worse scope prep or infected tooth issues (we may need to run a poll on that one....)

Lindylou - it is a rear moler that was removed, and given that my meals 80% of the time is well cooked easy to digest meals, i will be ok without needing a bridge or an implant.

the positive of the situation is that i have had a CT scan which will show if there are any other issues, and i have an awesome MC friendly Oral Surgeon that i am happy to work with in the future

Tomorrow (thursday aussie time) i will find out if there are any other issues lurking, and the fun stuff happens next Monday.

Kari, what is root cleaning? is it painful?

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:56 am

Morning Gabes,

So sorry to hear about the molar problem and can totally sympathize with you. That is coming from a toothless Maggie.

MC just destroyed what were left of my bottom teeth and have had the broken roots - very painful.

Good luck on your surgery.

Love, Maggie

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 3:49 pm

Hi Gabes,

Root cleaning is basically "deep" cleaning below the gum line. I have had trouble with painful gum infections, and when I went in for my checkup, they noticed that I have experienced an unusual amount of bone loss over the past couple of years. My dentist said that the only other time he had witnessed such rapid bone loss in a relatively short period of time, was with a diabetic. So he thought I should check into that, which I subsequently did, and fortunately tested negative.

They will "numb" my gums for the treatment, so it should not be painful, but it is time consuming and will take two 90 minute sessions to complete. Supposedly, this is a preventive measure which should help keep my teeth/gums healthy, thus preventing gum disease from developing. The other thing I found out today, is that they recommend an antibiotic treatment of "Arestin" to be placed in the gums when doing the root cleaning.

I have had teeth trouble all my life - the only ones that are still healthy are my upper and lower 6 front teeth, as all but one of my molars have crowns (a couple with root canals). I hope this treatment that I'm doing will help prevent further issues.

Love,
Kari

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:13 pm

Kari
i have been 'swilling' (i think that is the right word) zinc liquid in my mouth to help the gums, it helps fight gingavitus and has helped the gum heal where the moler was removed

now you have your digestion and nutrition working wonderfully and no doubt you are having loads of vit D3 and Calcium hopefully you can maintain what is there.

i too have not had a good dental history, as a child with frequent illness and bronchal infections i was constantly on sugary cough medicines (and did not brush afterwards as recommended these days)

my first root canal was a nasty pastie, all four roots, additionally the top of the tooth crumbled during treatment and required a crown. I remember the dentist saying it is rare for the tooth to crumble like that in people my age, it was over 12 years ago and way before there was any indication of MC type symptoms.

if only i had started the Vit D3 then.............

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:21 pm

Kari,

Best of luck with it. I've just updated my "family gluten issues" file to include my mother's terrible troubles with teeth and gums - I hope that this treatment will prevent you from ever heading down that path.

It is interesting that such severe bone loss is seen in diabetes. I hope you regain bone, as your overall health continues to improve, and the problematic resident infectious problems are vanquished.

(And I hope it doesn't hurt at all!)

Gabes, it's interesting how many of us have had dental problems - and how early they show up, in some cases long before GI symptoms. If only we could get the word out to dentists that anyone with the kind of atypical tooth crumbling you experienced should be tested for celiac/GS genes immediately!

Love,
Sara