Graves and teeth

[kittyelen]

So I had NO fillings till I was about 34

Had to have 3 at that stage and my dentist took an xray and I need 4 more now! She kept saying it's a lot of decay and now I searched about Graves and it says it can affect tooth decay!!!

(Thing is she said without the Xray they look fine but most dentists apparently do Xrays every 2 years to monitor, as if treated early, it avoids bigger jobs in the future)

How do we combat this? My dentist gave me some toothpaste on prescription and I already floss just been a bit lax some days but I do try my best. Thing is I've only had one episode of graves, I am now in range / "borderline"

Last result

TSH 0.42

T4 19.2

T3 5.9

BUT as just in range she wants one more check and then I will be discharged if ok or if it is going high again (As worryingly those results are marginally just further out of range than last time) then we will see what happens next.

Can one episode of Graves really impact tooth decay that much or is due to me being more lax on the flossing some days?

[Knowsnothing]

My teeth have absolutely crumbled with graves

[kittyelen in reply to Knowsnothing]

oh nooo

Thanks for the optimism :/

I googled it I was never told about this when I was diagnosed if I knew I would have maybe flossed EVERY single day! Well I am going to see if I can cut down my sugar intake, my dentist seemed to think it could be down to my diet but I hardly ever even drink fizzy drinks....

Also it's expensive I want two of the fillings white so they're about £150 each then £75 for both of the metal fillings, so I'm going to be £375 down I will be using savings and my appointments aren't till Sept but mannnn that's a lot of money have you had to have a lot of treatment?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Low vitamin levels, especially vitamin D

[kittyelen in reply to SlowDragon]

I think is it calcium too that graves can deplete? I'm making some changes to my diet and I will get a vitamins test

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to kittyelen]

more likely vitamin D and magnesium

No point testing magnesium, it’s unreliable test

You’ll see many thyroid patients on here supplement magnesium

[pennyannie]

If your Graves antibodies are still over range it's a pointless coming off the AT medication and the most recent research is suggesting the longer you stay on the AT drug the better the long term outcome for the patient :

i think I sent this to you before but here I go again :

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/338...

and just remember the other research papers into treatment options for Graves :-

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/306...

[kittyelen in reply to pennyannie]

Errr I've been off meds for over a year now I think

No idea on antibodies they only tested them at the very start!

I will make a note to ask on my next appointment though. I was on Carbimazole for one year. Yeah I think I remember reading those, and if I were to go overactive again I would fight my corner to take meds again rather than that radiotherapy.

I think it's just my mind overworking though, she said it may be natural for my body to be borderline and it's been stable for about a year she nearly discharged me last time but wanted one more check.

[pennyannie in reply to kittyelen]

Ah, ok then - yes I thought that then thought I'd misunderstood -

Sorry - I've got confused reading your back posts, but obviously not in the right order !!

My teeth aren't good - and yes another area of cost to factor in.

[humanbean]

Long before I knew I needed treatment for hypothyroidism I went to a private dentist once and she told me I needed six fillings. When I asked to see the decay on the x-ray she had taken she pointed at something on the x-ray. When I couldn't see any difference between what she was pointing at and the insides of the surrounding teeth she started getting angry with me and started jabbing the x-ray and raising her voice saying "There! There! THERE!"

At the time I was visiting her because one of my teeth had suddenly almost completely disintegrated (it happened when I ate some Rice Krispies!!!) and was causing a lot of pain. So I didn't want to wait to get an NHS appointment with another dentist. So, I stuck with this woman who I am convinced was a complete con artist. I regretted it but I've never known how to deal with angry medical professionals.

I have a bad effect on doctors and dentists - always have done - they always seem to decide they hate me the instant I walk in the door. It goes without saying that I've hated them back as a result, but the power in the relationship is always with them.

[kittyelen in reply to humanbean]

She did show me the x ray and explained it, I could understand from the darker areas what she meant. She didn't sound very happy I doubt anything dodgy as dentists are so busy I think she was more annoyed about the amount of decay and more appointments needed. She kept saying that's a lot of decay

She explained if you don't treat then it can get worse and lead to things like root canal and really it's best to treat now as once decay starts inside the tooth it will carry on

[thyr01d in reply to humanbean]

Oh, humanbean, your post brought me close to tears, it's awful to be treated like that.

[Alisonmeredith in reply to humanbean]

When I was little I used to go to this brilliant dentist who really put me at ease and I got on well with him. He just all of a sudden died and his practice was taken over by horrible people and so my mum took me to the clinic instead and every time I went she would say 2 fillings and then she got pregnant and whilst on maternity leave I saw her replacement and he said no fillings needed. Next time she was back and she said 4 fillings and my mum said no only 6 months ago your replacement said no fillings and she said he was wrong.

To cut a long story short to this day I am petrified of dentist and I don’t go all because of her and I think she practiced on my teeth! I always had good strong teeth because my first dentist always told my mum that I had and never needed any fillings.

[kittyelen in reply to Alisonmeredith]

Dentists can be so difficult We used to have a really good family dentist when he retired I was put under this new one who I have been with for many years so I do think she is genuine! As it's only been the last few I've needed work and many years with her prior where she was happy with my teeth!

So that's why I think it's more related to when my thyroid went overactive and it makes sense as that speeds up your body

I'd be so nervous to find a new one I have a small mouth and mine now knows me and she was patient, she actually found it a really hard job due to my mouth size so she would rather I don't need work done in the same area! (It's right at the back) She did a good job last time so I do trust her, she did say if not looking at the X rays they look fine but the X rays show the places where decay is that you can't see.....so it may very well be the case with yours depending on if X rays done!