Hi guys - more information required if anyone can help please? My teeth are literally just rotting away - my dentist is very concerned and has referred me to Guys hospital in London. In the meantime, however, my dentist is suggesting that all my white fillings (which I've had to pay for privately due to supposed mercury poisoning) he wants to remove and replace with mercury ones. He's asked me to go away and find out why exactly I can't have amalgam fillings and what effect this would have to my health.
Apart from me already telling him that it makes me feel awful (and that's just the removal of mercury fillings), he wants proof that I shouldn't have them. Can anyone point me in the right directions please - brain fog is dire at the moment!
Many thanks, Laura x
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Putting amalgum fillings in and taking them out creates more mercury vapour, my daughter had lichen planus from a new amalgum & had 8 removed (her dentist alerted her to it then changed her story if there was money involved - so daughter went private - most private dentists won't do amalgum any more). There are references to Amalgum here - try seach & tags - several folks have had these removed.
Check your vitamin D & OJ intake too - best wishes, Jane
Obviously not a signed, sealed and delivered treaty obligation...
Dentists are quick to defend mercury as amalgam in the mouth but do not appear so keen to take on board the greater environment ranging from their own health, through that of workers in the whole supply chain, and everyone after, especially, cremation.
Like most things with thyroid disease/ CFS/fibromyalgia, there is never a simple answer. I have had the same conditions as you for the last 10 years or so.
The first question you need to ask yourself is, why are my teeth decaying / breaking down so much? The second question is, what is the best material(s) to restore my teeth with.
Teeth get cavities for a variety of different reasons. The first is too high a frequency of sugar intake in foods and drinks, and hidden in convenience foods. If you have hypothyroidism and CFS you constantly crave sweet foods and drinks, just to make it through the day without falling over. So there is a reasonable chance, that with the best intentions in the world, this may happen without you really noticing the change in your diet. The most effective way to counteract this is the use of fluoride in toothpastes and mouthrinse - except some evidence suggests that it can harm our thyroids. I guess you need to weigh up short term salvage of your very important teeth against potential harm to your thyroid.
Second main reason for dental decay is if you have a reduced flow of saliva. Again, there are many reasons for this, but many drugs, particularly amytriptaline gives you a very dry mouth. The saliva is essential to keep your mouth clean and buffer acids produced by bacteria in your mouth feeding on the sugar.
Third problem can be that you are clenching and grinding your teeth at night, and possibly during the day. This is very common with CFS and fibromyalgia patients, possibly due to sleep disturbance. Clenching and grinding puts huge pressure on your teeth and jaw muscles, and can lead to recurrent breaking of teeth cusps, that may already be weakened by decay.
Then there is the matter of the white fillings. Don't shoot me down, but there can be significant problems with white fillings. Depending on how old they are, the older white fillings were bonded to the tooth with adhesives. The fillings shrink a little when they are set by the bright light, and this shrinkage causes the fillings to pull away from the tooth, creating a little gap that can leak a lot, leading to decay under the fillings. If the technique used to place the fillings did not keep the tooth very dry, saliva can stop the adhesive from working, making the leakage worse. The newer white fillings are bonded with improved adhesives that can resist the shrinkage better.However, the fillings still shrink when they set, so in this case it can transfer the shrinkage stress to the tooth and cause hairline cracks and increase the chances of post-op pain. Most dentists don't know about this, because in 'normal' patients it isn't a very common problem, but it can be a big problem for us due to grinding etc. In addition, most white fillings contain Bis GMA which has significant health concerns.
So what can we get to fill our teeth? Mercury in amalgam does not sound like a good idea, white fillings have their problems. There are other materials but they are very expensive, like gold or all-ceramic fillings or crowns. These are probably the most bio-compatible filling materials. If you get referred to the dental hospital they may have students / staff who need training in providing these types of fillings, so you might get lucky. We could all use a little luck
Prevention is better than cure by trying to reduce frequency of sugar intake, read up on the side-effects of your meds, consider getting a bite-guard to protect your teeth and jaw from grinding at night.
I hope you get your teeth sorted soon, I think they are so important about how you feel about yourself.
I had to have all the whites removed and amalgams put in exactly for the reasons sick&tiredgirl is talking about right across all my back teeth 6 years ago as I was constantly getting mouth infections due to hairline cracks, the constant sugar/soft drinks I lived on got in them and caused decay under the fillings, since they came out the infections stopped despite no change in diet/habits. As us ME/CFS know, the worst thing you can do with the condition is take antibiotics and it was a vicious circle that lasted months until the problem was found as antibiotics cleared infection and caused ME to flare, no antibiotics caused horrendous pain and infections so I couldnt win.
Mine are all beginning to just shatter tho, lost 5 back teeth in last 2 years through breaking/snapping, 2 replaced with gold crowns, 2 removed and the latest which snapped completely in half in my sleep boxing night is booked in for next week for root canal and cap. My dentist is NHS and everything including the gold crowns were covered under the fixed band pricing.
When I asked the dentist Monday why they are all breaking apart all of a sudden he said there are obvious signs of grinding plus the constant sickness Im suffering is literally eating the teeth away so im being fitted for a mouth guard to hopefully help prevent further damage. Mouth guards on NHS are automatically band 3 (£209), privately through an NHS dentist I've just paid £90 for the guard and rest of work falls under band 2 (£48) so I've definately saved. It was my dentist who suggested that option so its always worth asking what options there are.
I never even knew I was grinding my teeth and he said its common with thyroid conditions (Im hyperthyroid) as we never completely relax so grind/chew as jaw tenses/moves while asleep. It was only when he explained it to my husband he confirmed Im doing it most nights and I dont want no back teeth just as I hit 40.
I hope you get a positive outcome and will be very interested to hear how you get on in the end, very best wishes
Hi bunny - thanks for your lovely response. How did you react to the mercury fillings? Did your ME/CFS flare up and cause you problems? You'll see from my response to sickandtiredgirl above what's been going on in my life recently and how stressed I am. I do grit my teeth constantly - or find I'm thrusting my tongue to the roof of my mouth, thus making my tongue sore and inflamed. No matter how many times a day I tell myself to stop doing it, 2 seconds later, I'm doing it again! Have tried the elastic band on the wrist shock treatment, but so far that's not working either. Anyhow, I'm just so unsure about having mercury fillings again - I have to consider the impact it may have on my health and the impact that will have on my family. My nan used to say that "teeth are a pain coming and a pain going" . Everyone comments on how lovely and white my teeth are - I've never drunk tea, coffee, alcohol, etc - so that could be the reason. However, I'd rather have some teeth in my mouth than on the dentists tray after extraction lol. Most of my back teeth have been removed and now the front teeth are crumbling too. Oh if only we had a magic wand!
Will keep you updated as to what treatment route I go down. My friend has offered to whittle me some wooden teeth - may well take her up on that! Can bling them up with some swarovski crystals etc lol. Thanks once again for your help, Laura x
That is unfortunate that the dental hospital did not accept the referral. If you are near London, there are several dental hospitals in the capital which may have different referral criteria. Some show what they are on their web sites, so it would be worth having a look.
As an intermediate 'holding' measure you could ask your dentist to fill your teeth with resin modified glass ionomer cement. It is a white filling material, but it doesn't shrink anywhere near as much as the usual white filling materials. It is routinely used as a long-term temporary filling material and can last up to 18 months or so.After that time they tend to chip and wear down, but their use would immediately remove the decay and stop it progressing and reduce the chance of you getting toothache or an infection. Then, as you gather up a little money maybe, you could get the top layer of the glass-ionomer cement cut back and covered with the traditional white fillings. The advantage of this is that the original glass ionomer cement is left as a bio-compatible lining material,avoiding cutting away anymore tooth, and a thinner layer of white resin is placed over it. Because it is thinner it does not shrink so much, so less chance of cracking your tooth. When they have all been covered in this way, that would be a good time to get a bite guard.
If financing the white fillings is a problem, when your mouth has been stabilised in this way, you could try getting one filling replaced with amalgam and see how your body reacts.
Whitechapel Dental Hospital, its the training hospital and you can just walk in.... my sister went there in desperation after months of agony and fighting her dentist over a tooth he insisted he could save that abcessed and they not only got her sorted and pain free within a week but also tore her dentist off a strip very badly!
I can see from your pic your beautiful smile Laura, wow is all I can say and I'd love teeth like that!
I've always had bad teeth and calcium deficiency, my baby set were already being filled before I started school and my adult set wasnt much better. I have had amalgam/mercury fillings all my life never realising there may even be a connection tbh and it was pure vanity for my birthday having the white's put in as I wanted white teeth like everyone else, in my case it bit me very badly.
I went under general and had them all done together tbh once we found the cause, figured whats the point of weeks of still having problems while they all changed a bit at a time when they were making me so ill and took my chances. I did have a chronic flare up and went down for a couple of months quite badly where I could hardly get out of bed but once I came out I never looked back. Whether it was putting the amalgam fillings back I dont know as we've since found out I flare up after general anaesthetic after 2 more for gynae condtions so it could have been abit of both.
Affecting the family wise, I was diagnosed with ME at 15 much to my parents relief as they knew I was ill but finding the condition was a nightmare, it was still Yuppie Flu back then and treated as a joke/psychological until a locum GP picked it up and I barely made it through my school exams I was so ill. When I had the teeth done everyone was used to it, they have always treated the flare ups like a recovering from major op....sleep/rest, painkillers and loads of build up shakes and just allowed me to be ill and recover for as long as it took.
As soon as I started going down my wonderful parents took over completely and took shifts who was caring for me and who was sorting the kids and saw me right thru, without them I know I couldnt have coped and my 'now' husband worked all hours he could to keep us afloat, it wasnt easy but neither was me in bed every other week ill yet again. I lost my job as I'd already had so much time off sick but I hated it anyway and in the end completely changed careers which changed my life. I stand by the decision even now and dont have any regrets as I was flaring more and more severely with the whites in and antibiotics than I'd ever done or have since so for me it worked out for the best.
Lastly the tongue one I found a drastic solution to by accident, not that Im recommending it but.....in a crazy moment feeling completely out of control of everything I walked in and had my tongue pierced. Without realising it stopped alot of it, the ulcers/soreness etc as I now have a small gap due to the stud so it never completely hits the roof anymore. As im typing Im aware its up there at the moment so I obviously still do it but I roll the roof with the stud which is smooth instead of grate/rub the tongue.
Rachael
P.S. If you do get wooden one's with bling, I may need a recommendation please lol
I am so so sorry, I read your other reply after typing and talk about put my foot in my mouth about parents, god Im an idiot at times and I feel awful! Im so sorry for your loss and what you are going through, I could kick myself and cant even begin to imagine what it must be like
Woooooo there bunny - it's totally alright hon. My parents were super helpful too before mum got ill, please don't think you've put your foot in it - u haven't, honestly. I'm good - am also half asleep and can only do silly one finger typing on iPad so will reply to you tomorrow when I'm on the big computer. Just wanted to let you know you can sleep well as you have certainly not upset me. Hugs til tomorrow xx
Silly I know but thank you as that really does help, stupid condition this is with its anxiety and I will sleep better knowing I havent upset you further. Enjoy your evening and til tomorrow....night hun x
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