Tooth Loss

I had some pain in a front tooth and the dentist took an x-ray and said the root of the tooth is just wasting away and eventually they will have to just pull the tooth. I am wondering if this is from weight loss surgery and if it has happened to anyone else.

The dentist cannot explain why it happened, but I am wondering if it is part of losing bone density.

Hi White Dove,

Sorry to hear about what you are going through. I have seen posts after post about this and wonder myself if there is a connection. I did a search and here are some member's posts about it.

https://www.obesityhelp.com/search/?q=WLS%20and%20dental%20i ssues

Good luck and keep us updated on how you are doing

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4467779/

This may explain some if it...(truth be told, I didnt read all of this)

I think it's possible that many factors lead to loss of bone and teeth - age (I'd be worried losing bone and teeth at 30, not so much at 60), genes (periodontal disease is genetic) and maybe WLS.

I'm 56, have had diagnosed periodontal disease for 30 years (way before WLS) and because of extensive, intensive treatment (costing 10's of thousands of dollars over the years) only just lost one of my teeth, my first! In my case I don't believe WLS has anything to do with it, other than to help because I am so much more health conscious than my peers.

Your dentist should be checking all your teeth to ensure he puts protocols in place to help save the rest of your teeth from the same fate.

I have always had healthy gums and teeth and always have several cleanings a year and all dental work taken immediately taken care of. I brush floss, waterpik and use a sonic toothbrush.

The dentist described it like this. The tooth looks beautiful, but it is like a boatdock sitting on top of the water and looks great but the part underneath the water all of the wood is rotting away. Not too great a picture.

I was wondering if malabsorption took its toll there. I have had a lot of reduction in bone density following my open heart surgery in 2015.

Periodontic disease does need good dental hygiene, but it won't stop or cure the disease, it will maybe slow it down. I had 10 surgeries from 1999 to 2004 and have needed none since, but do have to have my roots planed every few years to keep the gums tight and healthy and my teeth stable. For comparison, my mum had all her teeth removed at age 28 and my sisters both have implants or flippers.

X Rays show the bone deterioration best. Maybe he could show you the last 5 or 10 years worth to see if it was a slow progression or a sudden loss and whether any other teeth are compromised. He should at least refer you to a periodontist to see if you would benefit from a bone graft.

Thanks Kim. I will look into that.

dental problems due to WLS seem to be kind of uncommon (my dentist has never seen it - and I only see maybe a handful of postings a year on it here on OH), but I thought they had more to do with tooth itself than the roots (e.g., cavities, crowns). My dentist said it probably has to do with acid in the saliva (from vomiting, silent GERD, etc). I suppose breaking teeth could be due to bone density issues, which could be related to malabsorption. I'm not sure about issues with the tooth's roots, though. I'll see if I can find anything on that.

here's a study of studies on dental issues with bariatric surgery. It does sound like it's really just the tooth itself that's affected (enamel erosion, cavities (both from acid or sugar) and broken teeth (probably from bone density issues, which could be from malabsorption). This doesn't mention the roots, and I haven't come across that yet, but I'll keep looking.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5467377/

btw - another factor these articles bring up is that many people who have WLS have dry mouths, which also invites problems (although again, these are with the tooth itself - roots aren't mentioned). I'm wondering if I should carry around one of those little spray bottles of Biotene. Although I use a prescription super high-fluoride toothpaste before I go to bed - and I get fluoride varnishes on my teeth twice a year (both to protect them from acid), so I should be OK... (or at least my dentist thinks so), but still... (yes - I was really concerned about possible dental-related side effects when I was pre-surgery - thus all this preventative stuff! Although my dentist did tell me he hadn't seen problems with his other patients who'd had WLS, so again, maybe it's not all that common)