Lately I've been having dental problems. My teeth seem to be healthy (not weak-walled or cavities) but at least 4 have come very loose in the past 10 months, and had to be extracted.
I currently have another loose one, that will be extracted next week.
My dentist has referred me to a periodontist for further treatment & I'll be seeing him the 2nd week of March.
I had severe perio problems (bone loss) about 10 yrs ago and had an extreme amount of work (some below gum-line, bone-grafts) done (about $ 6-8K), but every tooth that was worked on then, no longer is in my mouth - money down the toilet.
I'm not looking forward to another perio round.

Could this recent tooth loss problem, be due to calcium loss from the medications I'm taking? I recently saw a post here, that mentioned something of that sort, while discussing another topic.

I've been on 4200mgs/day Neurontin for 6 years, then switched to 600mgs/day of Lyrica, in the past 3 years.

I also take Tramadol, Zetia, & Terazosin.
I haven't taken any calcium supplements other than a multi vit.

Could this tooth loss be related to my meds?

I think you should post this at our Dental forum here.

Anything that causes "dry mouth" can be a culprit. Tramadol shows about 5-10% dry mouth in side effects reported. The Hytrin also can cause dry mouth, but it is listed at 1% or below incidence.

However, periodontal disease is common in smokers, because not enough oxygen gets to the tissue. Once the bacteria start to inflame the gums, things break down.

I would get a bone scan to see if your skeleton is affected too.
And Vit D levels done, since Vit D is involved with calcium absorption.

But I think Bryanna would be the one to ask, over at the Dental forum here.

MrsD,
Thanks for the suggestion.
I've just posted over there
(BTW- I started taking 2000 IU of D3 daily, this winter)

She works during the day, I think...so expect an answer later today or tomorrow...

I never smoked....at age 13, I had 13 cavities filled. Most of my teeth are crowns. It is postulated that I have Sjogren's, but if it is primary or secondary is still in dispute, but they can't really 'name' what the primary autoimmune disease is if SjS is secondary.

I imagine that there are lots of reasons for dental issues....disease, meds, diet among them.

I can commiserate with you, altho, I have been lucky that I have not had gum issues....I just keep cracking teeth. I have nightmares that I am chewing broken teeth.

Would a bite splint help?

Sometimes I think strong teeth/weak teeth are the luck of the draw with genes. I never had a cavity until I was 20, and I'm not so sure it wasn't just a dentist who was affronted that nobody had made any money on me yet.

All this tooth talk reminds me of one of my favorite Kate Hepburn quotes: "She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction."

I learned it the 'hard way' about 3-4 years ago when I simply couldn't do the 3 story walk up to my dentist of 25+ years and went to another, also highly rated in the area..... That said I asked the question about anti-seizure meds such as neurontin, lyrica and ultimately keppra..All state in their s/e's that bone loss is possible/likely. I asked the dental techs and they all said YES! And then w/my post-cancer meds It was YES YES!. I believe we're about equal in the $$'s spent on such repairs. Upon changing to the new dentist? I stated simply that should a tooth lose soo much to support it? It's better out. And that no cosmetic aspects be used, only basic function ones as the teeth were shells and I didn't want to throw good $ after bad? I now get cleanings 4 times a year and have cut my dental 'repair' costs down to 15% of what they were before! But, I also went off the anti-seizure meds and use pain meds only when necessary! Plus about 2 years ago Mrs D provided me w/a great deal of info about the calcium/magnesium and vite-d balances I'd need. I've tried to adhere to that program as best I can, but it couldn't keep up w/the damages the post-cancer[estrogen blocking] meds did, and still do. Just keep in mind that the PN meds are calcium sucker-outers! Then you have to balance your pain levels with the mouth issues? [not meant in an unkind way, truly] But many meds we take, do harm aspects far off base from what we'd expect.. so you have to balance the pros and cons of any med w/HOW you'd come out for the long run? It is all a trade off. Wish I could be more encouraging? But Bryianna is a superb resource!
OH and Silverlady [Billye] recommended Biotene drops or spray - it's an 'acquired taste'? But it does work! I use it all the time, and a little bit goes a long way! When I mention it to my dental techs? They go 'Oh yes!' we recommend it all the time...but never once to me? Go figger...
Hugs and better luck! PLEASE. When you have PN? You do NOT do well sitting for a couple of hours in a dental chair! Suddenly you CREAK! I hate that in public most of all! - j 's

For dry mucous membranes, usually associated with Sjograns, my Rheumatologist prescribed Evoxac (Cevimeline HCL). I do not have Sj antibody, but do have quite a degree of dryness.

I am still ramping up to 3 pills/day, but have already noticed a difference with moisture in my mouth and eyes. Perhaps 3 pills/day may be too much. I may be leaking all over if that is the case.

Perhaps your PCP may prescribe this if you are suffering from dryness. Have you been tested for sjogrens? It can happen in males. Wish you the best...

Mere

Hey, Bob!....

I've been going back to my grapeseed extract, after being reminded of it by another member here. I used to use it during allergy season mostly.

So I have been taking it starting at 100mg a day for a week, and now I am on 200mg a day... and my painful feet, which have been worse than usual with this weather, are MUCH better!

Today I decided to do a PubMed search on it, to see what new papers have accumulated there since my last visit, on this subject and found a TOOTH link. You may find this helpful

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...&ordinalpos=21
There are many new papers from 2009 in PubMed, using the simple keyword search "grape seed extract"... some regarding teeth, collagen and reducing inflammation from insulin resistance and diabetes II. All of them used high dose at least 300mg a day or more.
This looks very promising for PNers here with combined inflammation, diabetes and chronic PN pain!

Hmmmmmm !??