PBC and Gum Disease

[Val02]

Ive just come back from the dentist and been told that the gum disease I have been fighting for 10 years is out of control and he going to consult a specialist to see if anything can be done. He tells me the damage I am getting looks autoimmune in origin and is failing to respond to orthodox treatment. Does anyone else have this problem?

[kosy2]

WOW! I can remember when I was 25, I am now 54, my dentest telling me that I had the gums of an 85 year old. Fighting with peridonital disease ever since. At 46, I lost the war with my upper teeth and now have full upper denture.

It has crossed my mind if PBC was some how involved. Because of another symptom that began when I was 21, I think I may have had PBC all this time.

[Val02]

SNAP kosy2. I have lost all my upper teeth at the age of 40, I had to have the bone regrown and implants put in as I was not prepared to wear dentures. I have then visited a hygenist every 3 months since for 9 years as they were sure my bottom teeth could be saved but unfortunately it seems this is not the case. I soo dont want to go thru it all again but maybe I will have little choice.

I must have the cleanest teeth in the UK but still the constant flare ups continue, but it was only today that the dentist has mentioned autoimmune peridonital disease ........

[kosy2 in reply to Val02]

I dream about getting implants. However I just don't have the money. It would cost about $15,000. and we just don't have that kind of money. And now with all the medical bills because of the PBC the only way I will ever get implants is if we will Lottery. Tonight's drawing is 640 million. I got my ticket.

I have my teeth cleaned every 3 months as well. Just praying that I can keep my bottom teeth. Last year I started will a new dentest and after scaling my teeth he injected an antibiotic into the pockets. It has made a huge difference. I do not have any more bleeding gums.

[Val02 in reply to kosy2]

Yes I had the antibiotic injected in the gum some years ago, it worked quite well but it keeps needing doing.

Good Luck in the Lottery!!

[Hidden]

I'm not convinced that gingivitis as the other terminology apparently is for gum disease is due to PBC.

My dentist has mentioned previously that it looks like I have receding gums but has never mentioned anything else untoward. I just put it down to the fact that in my late 40's now with not too many gaps in my far back teeth as in previous extractions (which were all due to decayed fillings) and no crowns or caps or false teeth, it seems pretty much the norm for age.

In days gone by as in my gran's, auntie's and even my own father, they all had false teeth in their 30's apparently. My dad would have only been 32 when he got false teeth and he didn't have a lot of teeth when he had the remainder taken out.

I am of the way of thinking that maybe fillings that we have are one of the main causes of more gum problems and I've always wondered about filling over time, what chemicals maybe are seeping into the bloodstream from them.

Also thinking about it, if we are more prone to being deficient in Vit D due to PBC then it somehow figures regards our teeth?

[Hidden]

I have visited the dentist every six months since I was a small child, I have fillings in the back but no dentures, over the last couple of years my dentist has told me I have gum disease, although I do not have bleeding gums they are receding on the bottom and the bottom front teeth are wobbly, my dentist has not mentioned that it could be due to autoimmune disease, he just told me a couple of years ago that I need to visit every three months instead of every six months, which I have been doing, my teeth are still wobbly !

[Val02]

Hi thanks for your answers - I have no fillings and do not suffer with tooth decay at all strangely enough. After all these years Ive gone from "you must clean your teeth better", to "you must be short of an emzyme in your saliva", to last week, "when autoimmune was mentioned for the first time". No doubt if he does refer me to a "specialist" the cause of my problems may become clearer, or I might get the PBC answer, it could be but we are not sure...

[catherine69]

Hi there

I always had great teeth and healthy gums, very rearly any problems, then from about age 34/35 I started getting problems with my gum, this went on untill eventually I had to have several upper teeth removed (began to get spaces between the teeth), the teeth were perfect it was the gums, both my dentist and I could not understand why this was happening, it broke my heart getting my teeth removed as I had lovely teeth and often people passed remarks on them, will never forget the day my two front teeth were removed, I was diagonised with pbc at age 38 (Im 43 now) and my dentist believes pbc has played a part, im involved with other pbc related sites and the majority of the woman on theses site all state they have problems with there teeth/gums.

[Hidden]

Wow, this has been an eye-opener. I had all my upper teeth pulled when I was in my mid 50's due to them being so loose I thought they would fall out on their own. My bottoms were the same except for being able to reserve 4 teeth to act as anchors for the denture. Could this have been related to an autoimmune situation? This past weekend I have been in horrid pain from my bottom first molar. After a trip to the dentist this morning, I found out it will have to be pulled. I have been afraid to take pain meds ie ibuprofen, tylenol, so I was prescribe a new drug that is a NSAID called Toradol well actually it is a substitute called Ketorolac. Is anyone familiar with this pain medication. I haven't taken one yet and won't unless I absolutely can't stand the pain. I am also on an antibiotic. This dentist was amazing and totally understood how important getting the right drug is to someone with a compromised immune system.