Teeth issues

[Chihuahua1]

I had 5 teeth removed under general aneasthetic yesterday after waiting at least 12 months. I have a real phobia of dentists and because of the various health issues I have I struggle to sit still in the dentists chair through pain.

That being said I was wondering if anyone else has had issues with their teeth after being on prednisolone longterm, as it was suggested to me that this is what caused the disintegration of the teeth I needed removed? Luckily The rest seem ok for the moment. and I am now off steroids and have been for several months

[SheffieldJane]

Poor you! That sounds traumatic! I haven’t heard Pred specifically blamed for the deterioration of teeth but the body will sacrifice teeth before bones I think and we know steroids can adversely effect bone density.

[Chihuahua1 in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thanks Sheffield Jane. I had ended up with 4 mouth abcesses by the time they were removed, but all the pain had gone long since. I have more pain from a small cut they caused on my lip than any of the gums after the removal and most of the sensation in the teeth and gums had disappeared some months back.

[Bronni in reply to SheffieldJane]

Gosh I hope that’s true SJ ( teeth sacrificed before bones). My teeth are all still very good. Bone density scan this summer will determine bone health 😱

[SheffieldJane in reply to Bronni]

I lost a tooth for every baby - building their bones I guess.

Good luck with your DEXA.

Real scientists are available.

[Bronni in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thanks. I’m going to run with what you said 😄

[Hidden]

Hi, can't speak to the teeth issues but am very interested in hearing about you PMR journey as you are now off steroids. It is very seldom I see anyone on this forum who is months past their last dose, it sure would give me hope and inspiration for an end to this challenge. Thank you

[SheffieldJane in reply to Hidden]

That is an interesting question and is probably worth it’s own post. It might get missed here.

[Chihuahua1 in reply to Hidden]

Luigism. Whilst I would be happy to share some of my journey with you I cannot give you a timeline on when this or that happened. Owing to the fact I also have fibromyalgia that is still active I have short term memory issues, so somehing could have happened last week, last month, last year, or indeed 10 years ago. I cannot remember exactly when my first journey started, only that it took several weeks before I went to see a doctor and was diagnosed immediately. I was put on 30mgs pred for about a month which had an immediate effect for the good. No pain at all and no symptoms. I had had a blood test taken before starting the pred and my markers were "very high" at the time. After a month at 30 I reduced to 25 for a couple of weeks successfully. Then it was reduced by 5mgs per month until 10mgs and then reducing by 1mg a week, which I got away with quite well. I was off pred for a few months; I can't remember how long. The initial attack had been in the lower half of my body, particularly the hips. Then I had an issue with my neck, spreading down into my shoulders and eventually it prevented me from raising my arms. They felt as though someone was hanging really heavy weights on my arms and I just could not move them away from my sides and the pain was horrific. 30mgs of pred didn't do much so my doctor put me on60mgs as a starting dose, mainly because of my weight. Once the pain was controlled he reduced me quite quickly down to 40mgs and then 30mgs a bit slower. Over the next few months I reduced slowly down to 10mgs, but then I had a flair and had to go back up to 15mgs for a fortnight. I slowly reduced 1 mg at a time until I was off them completely and during this I had another flair, having to go back up and starting reducing again. Eventually I was free and clear by March/April time last year, so I've been clear for about 10 months or so. I think it was about June/July time when I developed new symptoms, which turned out to be fibromyalgia and so that is where I'm at for the moment. I just pray that the PMR stays away.

[Hidden in reply to Chihuahua1]

Thank you so much for replying. I do understand about the brain fog. I have been an avid gardener all my life and knew most plants by name and now can't recall most of them. Very frustrating.

Oh my.....it appears you have had quite a long and bumpy road. I do hope your teeth issues are behind you and that PMR never rears it's ugly head on you again...be well and thanks again.

[scats in reply to Hidden]

If it's any help I saw my brother last weekend and he's on just the occasional tablet now. He said he had forgotten what it was to feel "normal".

[Chihuahua1 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Luigism. I have several health issues, but I just keep plodding along. I refuse to let it all get the better of me. The brain fog gets to me from time to time but I'm never down for long. No point in being miserable; you don't don't live any longer, but it sure does seem like it.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

The main reason you don't hear from many people who are off pred is that they are off living life again! In my 10 years on the forums I have "met" quite few people who have got off pred but few are still here on the forum as they don;t have as much time. One other forum has a "Zero pred" thread for people to post their story for posterity.

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

Pmrpro.....than you......you have made my day...after 14 months (and I know that's not a long time as far as this condition goes) I sometimes get discouraged.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

There are quite a few stories here:

patient.info/forums/discuss...

and here:

pmr-gca-northeast.org.uk/st...

The first is a bit of a wade because people have commented despite being asked not to. The second may not be entirely up to date - but as far as I know almost everyone has been off pred for a while.

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

Than you....I will check it out

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I know Celtic on here had teeth problems that were blamed on pred. I think it varies - I have never had any real problems, a couple that have broken but they were teeth that were more filling than tooth!!

[HeronNS]

Indirectly, I think. Very sensitive teeth, much better now that I take an optimum dose of Vitamin K2, (200 mcg a day). But early dose of pred caused some gum recession so my mouth has aged faster than it would have otherwise, and this is going to cause problems down the road.

[Mikb]

I had two teeth removed. I blame it on the pred.

[JulieR2]

Hi there yes I have had 5 root canals in a year. One extraction and an implant . My dentist increased my visit to the hygienist to every three months whilst I am on pred. The dentist can see no other reason for my problems that the PMR or pred.

[Chihuahua1]

Thank you all for your replies. at least I know I'm not on my own.

[polymy]

I had never had any issues with my teeth until pmr. Now fillings have fallen out and have had decay in a lot of teeth. Have even had an extraction.

[Zhenya]

I have never had problems with my teeth before but now at the age of 71 and 4 years on prednisolone everything is going wrong and I need root canal fillings, crowns, fillings, the lot!

Two days ago I had a tooth extraction, which the dentist described as one of the most difficult he had ever done. I am still in considerable pain and paracetamol isn’t helping. Can I take Ibuprofen for a few days? I have read that it causes gastrointestinal problems when used with prednisolone but I wonder if this would be the case for short term use? I am also taking amoxicillin prescribed by the dentist to guard against infection. Many thanks.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Zhenya]

My rheumy uses NSAIDs for short term therapy even when the patient is on pred - but also insists we take a PPI or ranitidine to protect our stomach while taking the NSAID. Possibly no need for the odd dose for a headache but more than that may cause trouble,

[Zhenya in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you so much PMRPro

I have taken Nurofen since yesterday and so far no side effects apart from lack of pain! They do seem to work for toothache more than paracetamol. Hopefully I won’t need to take them for more than a day or two.