Said this before - but I HATE MY TEETH

[Scottietottie]

Hi

Over the weekend I found one of my front teeth hurt when I bit down on things. Not out and out toothache - but biting hurt. Phoned dentist for emergency appointment on Monday - and got one.

Dentist ascertained that the tooth in question was capped - but not root filled. He said a root filling past the cap would be tricky. I asked him just to extract it - and several other 'stumps' that still inhabit my mouth because they are dying off one by one and I just want less pain in the future.

Out of the nine 'teeth' I have left he has agreed to extract 5. The 4 he is leaving are all filled or crowned but he says leaving them will be better for dentures. (They will die eventually - I know my mouth) The procedure is fixed for a couple of weeks time and meanwhile I am on antibiotics.

So - tonight I bit on a piece of not particularly hard toast - and the whole front tooth sheared off at gum level. I quickly ascertained that it does indeed have a live nerve, which I have smothered with Dentak. I will phone for another emergency appointment tomorrow.

I HATE MY TEETH!

Thanks for listening. Take care - Scottie (looking more and more like a witch every day!)

[irish]

Been there done that , Scottie. The dentists all seem to have a case of collective denial when it comes to the seriousness of tooth issues in people with Sjogrens. I would just fight to get the rest pulled because they will have to and you will have to go through having your dentures remade

Sometimes I think the dentists are after the money but with your medical care situation you probably get them more cheaply than we do in US. Not much really good dental insurance in the US.

I argued with my dentist for years cause I had the same issues as you plus all the infections were worse because of my undiagnosed low t-cells. I refused to get dentures and just went with a small upper partial that made it possible for me to eat. Dentist was not happy as he wanted me to have the implants and it would have cost a fortune that we did not have.

I was so lucky to find a dentist who finally pulled my teeth--but waited some months to see what my tooth situation was and then pulled them all.

Good luck with this and keep us updated. Keeping those bad teeth can make us so sick. I always told dentists I thought my teeth were dying cause they literally feel like it. My teeth looked sick when they were pulled. They were dry and sort of brownish with shriveled roots. The dentist said they were weird. It was like the circulation had been cut off to my teeth. Irish

[wendyoh]

I hear ya I feel like my teeth are going to be my downfall.....they are painful to deal with and they set off neurogenic pain in my other hotspots like neck and feet......they aren't all that bad yet so I think its going to be a slow painful downslide as I age... I just had another one pulled (3rd one in 2.5 years) and I have to take off like a month of work just to recover a bit from that....I can't imagine if I had more than one out at a time

[gurs]

Just got back from my dentist yesterday, like you, hate what is left of my teeth. I only have a few stray ones left on the bottom, and another cracked. I just wanted the remainder of all my 5  pulled and then got a partial-bridge whatever. He ended up saving tooth and crown, but needed root canal and a bunch of other things. I always forgo the numbing medications and deal with the pain. He is amazed. I told him Im in constant pain everyday, so this is not much. The price not even worth it. Im sure I will end up losing this one very soon too. What a waste!

I think so many of us are in same boat. Im so sorry for you. I so wish that they could lobby where our medical coverage could handle this. Its so not fair. I can get a $30,000 rituxan covered, but not my teeth.

Gursie

[aussie mum]

My daughter is about to lose her first tooth due to SJS... She's 26.
She wishes they would just pull them all out now.

I joked the money we spent on her braces probably would've covered really nice dentures.

SJS sucks

[irish]

Boy, that is really the truth about the money for the braces. I lost my first tooth when I was around 26 also. I had no clue what was down the pike. Irish

[ellieas]

I held on as long as I could,but refused to pay another $25,000.00 to fix them all for a second or third time. I have full upper denture and partial lower. It was the hardest but best decision I have made

Hugs,
Lesley

[lorigacc]

I tried for years to hold on to my teeth....I really did take great care of them.  Little by little they went...until I finally lost that battle about 2 years ago. Now I have dentures, and I hate them. They really don't work as they should due to the extreme dryness.  I need to get back to a dentist and see if there is anything they can do about it, but for now, I don't want to see a dentist for a long time.  For those of you who are still fighting to keep your own teeth, try to hold on to them if possible. Just my opinion. For those in too much pain....I understand.

[irish]

I am sorry that you are having so many problems with your teeth. I might suggest that it would be good to see your dentist or a dentist to see if you can get you teeth sanded down on the inside and adjusted to fit better. When I had my teeth pulled and my new dentures put in I had to go back to see him every other day for a week or so and then it seems like it was 2 times a week while he checked for sore mouth and would sand off where the dentures were rubbing. It took a long time to get them fitting well enough that I could leave them in all day.

I, too, am dry and I have to be careful how much denture cream I use and what brand I use. I use the cheap Walmart brand and just put very little on because when it sticks to my dry gums it almost pulls the skin off when I want to take the teeth out. Seems like the glue works well enough. The more spend denture adhesives stick way to tight and I have though I would be buried with my teeth in a time or two.

It is really hard to chew when the teeth don't fit well and it can cause a lot of jaw pain, etc. I know from experience that when the dentures fit better a person feels more comfortable and happier with their teeth. The biggest pain is how much time it takes to take care of them. Having our own teeth is much handier. I have to admit I was so glad to get my teeth pulled cause I had so many infections with root canals and just one thing after another. It took a lot of pressure off me cause I spent so much time at the dentist that my boss asked me if my whole check went to the dentist. Pretty much I told him. Good luck. Irish