Crohn's Disease and Teeth

I just got back from the dentist. I was very disappointed that he found five cavities. I have always had very good dental hygiene. At the age of 21, I had no cavities, and by 34, three. I am wondering if anyone has noticed a change in their teeth and gums after being diagnosed with CD? If anything, I'm even more vigilant now that I'm older when it comes to taking care of my teeth.

Oh, Andi, I'm so sorry for you! 5!

Re. your question, I had 4 cavities all at once, just before my Crohn's diagnosis. Had not had a cavity in years, and only a tiny number of them during childhood. My dentist emphasizes that I do a great job with tooth care.

Also have moderate enamel damage from throwing up daily for 3, 4 months.

And next month I'm having my first of 4 gum grafts because the gum tissue is receding. Once source I read suggested this could be linked to Crohn's, but the evidence seemed scant.

I hope that your appointment to have the fillings done goes smoothly and that you do not experience any more problems for a good LONG time.

Thank you Kelly. The fillings won't be big, but I'm shocked that my dentist found 5 cavities. Maybe it's the Prednisone, that does weird stuff to the body in general.

I though I am had bad gums but turn out that the medicatio I am current take or I have done for flare. Have got soft teeth and gums bleed lots.

I had 8 cavities after being on pred for a year. Its the only time in my life I have ever had them.

I recently had a checkup at my dentist after having some pain in my gums. Outcome was very good, no cavities, no abscesses, also no reason why I was having the pain though. Have to go for an x-ray to see if anything else going on but other than that he said that I have really good teeth and gums. Haven't been on big doses of pred for quite some time though.

Since dx, I`ve in 2008 had two cavities, and had a molar snap in half

Thank you for the input. My friend at work who also has Crohn's has lost several teeth, and her gums are bad. She also blames the Prednisone. It felt like a slap in the face because I take such good care of my teeth and went so long without any cavities. It's also going to be expensive. I'm not sure what the cost of dental work in other countries is like, but here in the U.S. dentists seem to make a killing. My husband had a root canal on one tooth several years ago. It cost us almost a thousand dollars. I think that's insane. Maybe I should encourage my son to become a dentist. LOL!

Same here - didn't have cavities until two years ago - now I've had three and I have gum problems

I have had lots of dental problems which I think are linked to my Crohn's disease.

Before diagnosis I had a couple of fillings but nothing major. In the 4 years or so since my Crohn's started I have gone to a mouth full of fillings, I think I have only 1 molar that has had no work at all. I have had 2 inlays and one of my front teeth got infected and 'died' which has left it thin and discoloured.

I have been to the dentist today for a checkup and he x-rayed by mouth to check for any further decay. Yet another big filling had to be done and bad news, one of my molars now needs a crown fitting.

All this at the age of 27. It is like my teeth have aged 40 years in 4 years. My dental hygiene is good so that is not the problem.

I also have been told I have osteopenia which is going to leave me more susceptable to osteoporosis in later life, I guess my teeth have been hit by the same effect.

I was only on Prednisolone for a year or so but at high doses and the damage has been done. I do also have Hydrocortisone injections alongside my Infliximab so this maybe has some ongoing impact.

Only saving grace is that I have an NHS dentist and I am charge exempt which means all the dental work is free. I could not afford to pay private fees. The disadvantage of that is that the NHS tends to use amalgum fillings so my molars are black - apart from the gold inlays!

Thank you for your input. I was beginning to doubt myself for a while. I can be meticulous about brushing, so I needed to know if it has happened to others. I'm sorry. Dental work is no fun!

oh my1 i just got home from the dentist i was told i have 9 cavities-keep in mind i am not the candy lover....i guess i'll blame it on the prednisone which i took twice in the past year

Thank you for all the support. I'm surprised at how many have had their teeth affected. Well, I shouldn't be, as the mouth is part of the digestive tract. Dang it!

Prednisone makes my teeth sensitive to hot and cold. It also makes my teeth loose...

Going for my third crown in March--yippee! I avoided the dentist for a good long time but once I cracked a tooth I had to go...
They found all sorts of problems. Also lots of old fillings needing to be replaced and the decay that went along with that. Had a root canal done last summer too. Thank the Lord for dental insurance (over $1000)!!
Needless to say I take much better care of my teeth now. Good luck!

Gum graft 9 days from now...eek!

WOW! I go to the dentist next week and this was going to be my question. (I'm still going to ask.) I've noticed that my teeth just feel dirtier. I feel like I can scrape plaque off of my teeth after a few hours since I brushed. Gross. Now I see it isn't my imagination. Another wonderful reason why I'm so glad I refused to take any more of the horrible prednisone....ugh!

I was diagnosed when I was 8 and put on prednisone 180mg/day. When I was 16 I was put back on prednisone. Add in bad dental genetics - both sides - and my teeth didn't have a chance!

By the time I was 19 I was easily breaking teeth on such things as dinner rolls. It didn't get any better from there. When I was 35 I had the rest pulled.

After so many years trying to hide my smile, I now have one that's better than when I was a teen! After so many years of fear of dentists, I have a great one who knocked me out and I didn't feel a thing.

Expensive, but so worth it as now I can eat all the things that bother my Crohn's Disease! Nuts, popcorn, raw vegies, apples, etc!

But I found no matter how meticulous I was with my dental care, there was no stopping the destruction.

I have 5 false teeth now as they just crumbled after having Crohns for about 13 yrs I also have arthritis and blame it all on the dreaded prednisilone if anyone is on it dont forget to take yr calci chew!!

Thanks for the support and tips. I wanted to have the work done in March during my spring break, but I'm scheduled to have all the fillings done on April 6th. I do have a good dentist. With my last two fillings, the work (including the shots) were totally pain free. That was a first for me.

Okay, here's a question- Before the Crohns, I've always had very good teeth, as I've mentioned earlier. I have a crack in a molar that may eventually need a root canal. My dentist said that because I'm a grinder, even with a mouth guard the root canal may come sooner rather than later.

I am scared as I've never had one. Several friends, my husband, both of my parents, and my brother have had them. I don't know who to believe. These were the responses. I'll divide them into three major responses:

Hurt Very Bad- My husband, my mother, a friend

Wasn't any different than a filling- my father, another friend

It was uncomfortable but it didn't really hurt- my brother, a friend

I guess the name just sounds freaky. What do you think?

Hi Andi:

I agree -- root canal sounds awful by name alone. That said, I'm pretty sure that's what my sister had recently and it went very well for her. She was nervous but things were well managed.

Now for a little complaint of my own: I had a gum graft last Friday, felt zero pain on Saturday, and since then it's been achy, especially at night even though I try not to talk too much and eat only soft foods. But what's a little ache, eh? And Tylenol is pretty effective (I just try not to take it too often).

I had a root canal last summer--overall wasn't too bad. I had a tooth filled and it continued hurting and hurting after they were done. I called the dentist back and they said I needed to see an endodontist for a "possible" root canal. I thought I was going to have a consult but they did it that same day. They let me take a xanax before they started though. They had me extremely numb before they did anything too. So, it was uncomfortable, took a while to do but wasn't terrible.

You are brave Kelly. The gum graft sounds very painful. I'm so glad you had zero pain during the procedure.

Heather, your experience sounds similar to what my dad described. He said that his fillings are very deep, so he would almost rather have a root canal because they take the pulp and the pain stops. He claims that big fillings can be more painful because your root and nerves are still intact, and his dentist had drilled into nerves before. OUCH! I don't like the sound of that.

I have regular fillings, and I think because I never had a root canal and am unfamiliar with it, it seems very scary. It doesn't help that my husband and mother both said root their root canals were very painful. Ugh!

Andi,
I have a very, very good dentist. I have teeth made from baby powder mixed with elmer's glue. I have had 3 root canals & felt nothing! I am a wimp!!! I have had all the teeth on the upper jaw worked on extensively and I have full caps which look better than the real thing! Again, major work, felt nothing!
Do I blame pred? Sure. Do I blame vitamin malabsortion? Yup. Do I blame drinking well water with no floride in it? Yes. Also bad genes. My mom had bad gums & lost her teeth in her 30's, my dad had bad teeth & lost his as time went on.
Like you, I am a demon for dental care. I brush, floss, rinse well, use a water pick and go to the dentist every 6 months for cleanings.
Do what you gotta do girl. If a wimp like me can handle it, you'll do fine!
Michele

That makes me feel much better Michele. I was beginning to think I was the only one who was a chicken when it comes to dentists. I'm also surprised to learn that so many with CD have had troubles with their teeth. I know much of my fears come from a horrible experience at the hands of an Army dentist. Or should I say, "Army butcher."

If it weren't for the Pred and malabsortion issues, I'd probably have a terrific set of teeth. Good teeth seem to run in the family, though the Crohnies become the exception. My sisters have beautiful teeth. One of them is cavity free. I can't even imagine anyone being 42, and cavity free. My parents who both grew up in the back woods of Alaska still have their teeth. They are beautiful straight teeth; but because their generation didn't have floride, and they didn't have good dental care, they got mouths full of fillings and crowns. They are surprised that they still have them. There's hope for my kids, wishing and hoping that they don't develop CD.

I have always had healthy teeth but now the dentist had to remove two teeth because of cavities on my gums...bummer!

I've added a proper poll to this thread, so vote away.

My teeth aren't noticeably different since being diagnosed with IBD. My teeth certainly took a turn for the worse in the last 10 years but I think that's more diet and being lazy. I've stepped up my oral hygiene though so I think all should be well going forward.

You are blessed, David. I use to have terrific teeth. I still take good care of them and floss daily. They look nice, but they now have ten fillings, something I never needed in the past. My brother, who has CD, also has a mouth full of fillings. My sisters without CD have zero and two fillings respectively. I try not to blame too much on the CD, but I really do think that it played a number on my teeth and gums.

Here is a 13 minute movie that I show to my students every year, especially around Halloween. It's a terrific reminder that good dental hygiene is the only way to keep your teeth. If you have young ones that are lazy when caring for their teeth, show them this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6A_iuZORQQ

I don't know if it is the Crohn's or the braces - but my son's gums get *so* swollen. Knowing the inflammation can affect different parts of the body -we think it's the Crohn's.

well its been a long road, and my teeth were really bad "notice were", had every tooth pulled yesterday. Now I can fianally take cimzia, its been in my fridge since december. Cant wait to feel better.

I have had lots of fillings and several teeth break / crumble. I also have soft enamel. Not sure whether to blame it on the crohns or the prednisolone as I went 3 years with no prednisolone and my teeth still got worse.

Cavity!

Had a cavity fixed/filled a few weeks ago. It has been ages since I've had one! I blame the Prednisone.

This reminds me that I need to go to the dentist!!

I don't think I've been in since I went through a round of prednisone. I hope the meds haven't done too much damage... although, when I think about it, I am having issues chewing certain textures... yikes

teeth

Hi! Unfortually I have suffered thought the 26yrs with crohns! I have lost all my teeth and now am wereing dentures! So please see you dentist regularly do stop help save your own teeth!

I also had great teeth. Up to the day I had them all pulled they looked great on the outside. But they had been rotting away on the inside due to so many years of Prednisone. Once I got them all pulled (in the same day) I quit having stomach issues for almost a year. Only problem was that due to my up and down wieght I had a hard time with dentures fitting and it became much easier (and less frustrating) to go without them.