Dental Issues

I take several thousand units of both calcium citrate and vit D. Thing is, I have a radical distal, so in theory, need more. But ALSO in theory, being 13 yrs out, I need less, or so the literature says.

In reality, I have had WLS, so I need more than normal, whatever that is AND I take it according to the studies I read & my labs. I had 2 surgeons, so one would say a level vit D of 30 is good, one would say a level of 50 is good and my endo would say a level of 70 is good. The most recent study I read said 100+ is better. Since I want to enough vit D to feed my bones and my teeth and my joints and help me with my auto immune disorder and permeate the muscles, etc, I want my levels to be around 100.

So, for me, I use UpCal D in every protein (so 4-5 per day--not in my protein taken near iron); capsules; and the cinnamon BA's with appldle slices for calcium citrate. All of them have vit D, but not even close to enough. I take 6 of the 5,000 (30k) per day and two of the 50,000 per week. So, will get labs next week and see what score I grabbed.

Note I said my surgeons would be happy with lower levels and I'd expect that most your surgeons, IF THEY TEST D AT ALL! will be happy with any levels over 20. But that doesn't mean you will be.

Yes!, I too have teeth problems. Mine are wearing away. They are getting thin...you can almost see thru the bottoms of them. I thought it was something to do with chemo I took 7 years ago. I need veneers or caps all the way around..about $20,000 worth...that wont be happening unless I win the lottery. I do take the calcium citrate with d  -chewable from Bariatric Advantage  4 or 5 a day and I take the dry vitimin D but its not the D3..take that 3 times a day. My labs have always been fine they say. But I do have ostreoperosis and am having trouble takeing actonel...Dr has mentioned the IV but im so afraid of that dead jaw ive read about, especially with my teeth being so bad. So dont know what to do there either.   Cha

Michelle,  Yes I must be one of those ppl..  Where/how do I get this D3..  Will GNC know what I am talking about..  Thanks for your advise..  I know I don't do good taking Calcium but it's time I give in and just do it.. Donna

Please tell me what kind of calcium citrate you take.  I take Tropical Oasis but probably not nearly enough.  Also, what kind of D3 do you recommend?  I'm sorry to say that I know nothing about this. Thanks, Linda

I've been rubbing and pulling on my teeth all day to be sure they're holding on real good.

I have only noticed one change in my teeth. I had braces in my mid 20s.  I self-paid.  I didn't have great coverage but having perfectly straight teeth was worth every dime and all the time. Then, I had WLS and ALL of my teeth SHIFTED.  Yes, shifted.  Some are crowding now.  Some have moved towards the side, etc.  It's not a huge shift that causes any appearance of deforminity and they are not in any condition (as of yet) that any would need to be pulled. I asked my Dentist about it.  He told me that the tongue holds the teeth from caving inward and falling out and that the lips keep the teeth held inside the lips and in the jaw.  He told me that it is NOT uncommon for a person who has lost a significant amount of weight without the teeth suffering some reprocusionl.    So, I did post a bit about this several months ago and we amazed (thought I should not have been) at all the post-ops who claimed that they were either 1) experiencing the shifting of teeth which removed the "perfect smile" OR 3) there were having great difficulty with their teeth such as them cracking in half, falling out, etc.!    WOW! I think that for ME, now is the time to ensure that i get on the right supplements so that they don't start cracking!!!  I really don't want to end up on that road! Thank your for posting this and starting this conversation!

I'm having terrible problems with my teeth. It doesn't help that I'm phobic when it comes to the dentist and I procrastinate until I am in pain. In fact, today (my birthday) I am hurting enough that I am going to go to the dentist at noon. I'm such a coward when it comes to my teeth. I have no problems with doctors, but dental work freaks me out. I have blood work done every 4 months or so and am always taking mega doses of vitamins/minerals, especially iron, D, A and zinc. They seem to be nearly impossible for me to keep up. This isn't the way I want to spend my birthday, but I can't stand this pain, anymore.

Happy bday! Mine was Monday. And my 13th was Oct 5!

I have finally found a dentist so concerned with my fear that he's asking, "Does this hurt?" when they put the bib on me. FINALLY! They "get it"! And as a result, I'm very relaxed there now, since they're likely to "think" something's hurting me long before I do.

They have XM or something and for any actual work, they just plug me in and I'm elsewhere. They can do whatever, as long as they don't talk to me during good songs. One wonders if I'm actually trying to sing along with a mouthful of fingers. Frightening thought.

What exactly are you taking for A, D, E? What kind of levels are you seeing? Years ago, we just didn't even have these high dose fat solubles available, so we were taking handfuls of dry form vit D3 in only 400 units! Now with the 5,000 & 50,000, it's much easier to take just 1-2-3, whatever and target a level and GET it a few months later.

Nowadays, at least in these parts, there's a dentist on every corner and they are fighting for your business. See if you can find one who caters to fear specifically. If they think you're a big baby, they are not the place to go! For so many years, I avoided dental work just for the heart racing terror that gripped me when I sat down and I think it stemmed from earlier dentists treating my fear as a character flaw.

Now that they WANT our business, the younger ones must be actually taking a course teaching them that the fear is real and if they want to make a buck and build a business, they'd better take it seriously. I actually LIKE my dentist and his crew, since my visit is about ME and not about THEM. I hope you can find someone who will take you seriously and treat you kindly.

As for understanding the nutritonal needs behind our teeth? Wellllll, not so much.

I only had surgery a year ago but needed 2 root canals within a month of eachother. My teeth are getting worse and it is expensive. I need to make an appt to get a deep cleaning and all my teeth checked. If you are not having problems still see your dentist... sometime the problems start at the bone.

This is an excellent post. I've been on this board for a long time and I only post when I see something really good.  I can testify to the fact that the surgery DOES affect your teeth. Just yesterday I went to the doctor b/c it appeared that all of the dental work I had done years ago seemed to be falling apart. I was losing fillings and  I had chipped a tooth. When I left the dentist yesterday, I had been scheduled for a Root Canal (where the chipped tooth is), 4 crowns, 1 filling and two wisdon extractions!!!!!!!! They hygenist asked me....."where did you go Rot' Donald's????"  I was amazed that all of the affected teeth were right on top of each other and the root canal is on the other side. I'm having $6000 worth of work done in stages through Christmas. I hope that's all of it...if my teeth continue to deteriorate, I'll be walking around with plates in my mouth. YUCK!!!!