Long in the tooth: Yes - hypoT does that too, it... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

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Long in the tooth

27 Replies

Yes - hypoT does that too, it seems. I was just gazing mournfully into the mirror when I spotted that the tissue round some teeth seemed to be retracting in a dismally ageing way...

Could that possibly be related to the thyroid, I wondered.

And... yes. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/222...

27 Replies
greygoose profile image
greygoose

Indirectly related to thyroid. Shrinking gums are usually due to low HGH. You need T3 to produce HGH, and you need HGH to convert T4 to T3, so...

in reply togreygoose

Thanks GG. This is a complex subject, isn't it? It looks as though hypothyroid's effects go beyond HGH.

I've just been looking at Mone's study, 2014, which found the protein coding gene IL6 to be significantly higher in the saliva of both hypos and hypers, and TNF alpha, the cell signalling protein involved in inflammation, also higher in saliva in hyper and hypo. (They were both higher in serum too, so I would guess the saliva is a knock on.) The study's conclusion is that thyroid dysfunction impacts on both these, and they are both known to affect osteoclast differentiation. "Alveolar bone resorption is the most important clinical parameter used to assess the severity of periodontal disease."

It looks as though hypers might get slightly worse disease than hypos.

It is very clear that you have to treat the thyroid disease to help keep the teeth.

I doubt many dentists would know this.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Too right they Don't! The arguements I've had with dentists! Much the same as doctors, really.

LAHs profile image
LAHs in reply togreygoose

What's HGH? Sounds important.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toLAHs

HGH = Human Growth Hormone

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...

LAHs profile image
LAHs in reply tohelvella

Of course it does!

Thank you so much for that amazing list of abbreviations, I had NO idea. And now I do.

humanbean profile image
humanbean

Very interesting, thanks for the link. I have this problem. Various dentists have said it's my fault for brushing my teeth too hard. :(

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply tohumanbean

HB, ask Santa for an electric sonic toothbrush. 20+ years ago my gums were in bad nick and 2 months after using a sonic they were so improved my dentist started recommending it to other patients.

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply toClutter

Thanks for the suggestion, Clutter. I replaced my last electric toothbrush quite recently. As always, I bought basic and cheap. I'll see if I can save up my pennies and buy a better one soon.

dgleds profile image
dgleds in reply tohumanbean

me too....I brush too hard, and too long, and too much....My mom made me do it ;)

dgleds profile image
dgleds in reply todgleds

I have a really soft tooth brush! I agree hormones could play a roll, because they affect everything...Yes, a very crappy diet certainly would affect your teeth too...Genetics too...I have really nice teeth(so did my Mom),but she ended up at 90 with all her teeth, but no back teeth. My Mom brushed her teeth hard, with a hard toothbrush...and for a longggg time at the sink!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tohumanbean

Well, either you brush to much or you Don't brush enough. You brush to hard or you Don't brush hard enough, you brush too often or you Don't brush often enough. Your toothbrush is wrong, your toothpaste is wrong... To dentists, brushing is the be all and end all of teeth! They know nothing about nutrition, nothing about hormones... Does that sound familiar, or is it just me? lol

Lynneypin profile image
Lynneypin

I have osteoporosis, and shrinking gums comes with that.

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply toLynneypin

That's rather worrying. I had receding gums even when my bone density was above average in my 30s. My bone density has dropped a lot since then, and I am sure osteoporosis is going to happen to me. I feel as if I can see my future, and it contains dentures. :(

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus

My dentist was very worried about my receding gums because he said my oral hygiene was impeccable. Check up after check up he commented on the gums , and then....

I started self injecting B12 earlier this year, and after only a few months, my gums are clearly coming back.

in reply toHypopotamus

Whoah! That's interesting. So there are also many factors playing into this which are associated with hypothyroidism, like iron and B12 deficiency.

Here's a study to back up your experience.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

in reply toHypopotamus

This is just an extract, because I know most people don't have time to read full studies.

"Acute or chronic nutritional deficiencies have been reported to be related to some periodontal disturbances. Several animal and human studies have documented different vitamins related to oral and periodontal disturbances. For example, the historical disease scurvy causes a vitamin C deficiency that results in gingivitis with hyperplasia, gingival bleeding and enamel hypoplasia. Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to result in osteoporosis in the alveolar bone.In addition, it is not surprising to observe either glossitis or gingivitis with deficiencies of the vitamin B complex. Significant ulcerative lesions and gingivitis and glossitis are the typical findings with folic acid deficiency. With replacement therapy, these findings are expected to be reversible.

Vitamin B12 is one of the most common nutrients, the lack of which not only causes oral lesions, but also significant systemic disturbances. Some of these may be irreversible if not properly treated. Atrophic glossitis with paresthesia, burning or purities sensation in buccal mucosa, taste alterations, denture intolerance, recurrent ulcers and cheilitis are the common oral manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency. However, these findings are not exclusive to vitamin B12. All these symptoms are also common in anemia of iron deficiency related to oral manifestations.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus in reply to

Thanks for that. I thought that it was too much of a coincidence not to be related to the B12 injections.

Coastwalker profile image
Coastwalker

Also is there a vitamin D connection too Aspamama. I have a friend who's gums were making her teeth loose, several had to come out, but since taking vitamin D3 for joints and knee pain, she also noticed her teeth seem to be sitting in their sockets better, not so loose, we wondered about the D3 and laughed about it, but maybe the D3 has helped.

in reply toCoastwalker

I would bet you are right, Coastwalker, and this is also an important factor.

The evidence so far seems to be mainly "association" but it is summarised here.

vitamindcouncil.org/health-...

Coastwalker profile image
Coastwalker in reply to

:) Not surprised Aspmama, I'm sure I knew about this before, but have a 2 second memory like a fish which is is NOT down to brain fog. :)

Thanks for the quick link to vitamindcouncil.

My friend gets dark skinned just looking at the sun and has been on 5000iu D3 (+K2) for quite a while.

She'll wish she'd known about D3 sooner.

in reply to

I agree Coastwalker, the long term memory problems are different from the brain fog. (Incidentally a friend tells me adding a bit of dessicated thyroid to her levo removed her brain fog.)

And different again from working memory, I can't do sums in my head at all now - just can't hold the information in order to manipulate the numbers.

And I bet all this links to the thyroid.

win_4ever profile image
win_4ever

Can this be linked to me being hypothyroid Lol but ever since yahoo updated my email account this forum is in English but the headlines are in Spanish! I clicked on my icon at HealthUnlocked and the drop down box is all in Spanish.! I can assure everyone that I am not in Spain (I have just looked out of my window to check the weather) I am definitely in England!!

Sorry to be off topic but very confused can anyone shed some light on this please?

foreversummer profile image
foreversummer in reply towin_4ever

This happened to me once win_4ever, but sorry I can't remember what I did to get it back to English - damn this poor memory!

Pinkpeony profile image
Pinkpeony

If you scroll right to the bottom of the page , there is a choice of languages there.

😊 pp

Klagh profile image
Klagh

After brushing, I rinse my mouth with 3% hydrogen peroxide for 1 minute, in the morning, and at night after brushing, especially before bed. It has helped my gums immensely.

Lynneypin profile image
Lynneypin

Klagh

Where do you get the hydrogen peroxide? Thanks

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