Teeth Loss and Decay

Hello ALL! It has been a looong time since I have been on here, a looong time. I am now 8 years(?) post op. I have maintained my weight loss, YAY!!! BUT, I am losing all of my teeth, NAY!!! I have always had weak teeth, bad enamel, constant trips to the dentist to maintain a healthy smile. I started with one tooth every six months, needing a root canal. Obviously it is very expensive for dental. So I had to wait a little more time in-between each fix. Which caused bacteria that decayed other teeth. Pretty soon I couldn't even keep up with how fast they were decaying. I went through a devastatingly stressful time, and although I already had TMJ, I began grinding even harder. Grinding so hard I was breaking my teeth. I had/have a mouth guard, but if I forgot one night, I would grind so hard my jaw would be stiff and teeth sore.  Then this last year we had some serious issues with my son, and my teeth took a backseat to those issues. Finally to fix my issues, it ballooned up to $10k to fix the problems. And there was no way that was possible at that time.

As of today, they are not saveable :( I have to have them all removed. The dentist said he has never seen such rapid decay, in anyone besides a meth addict. which I am absolutely NOT lol. Then I started doing some research and reading that in some WLS patients, something changes in your saliva that has bacteria and causes rapid tooth decay. Because of the trials my family has gone through, and my age(younger than most patients who lose their teeth) he is doing a full set of implants for free. So at least I am not getting dentures at this point.  Its embarrassing even writing this post, let alone posting it. I don't tell anyone, I have just become a hermit until I wait for them to be fixed. I finally confided in my cousin(who also had WLS) and she told me that a couple of girls on her WLS support page, were going through the same thing:/ I am a lot further out than most of everyone who still posts on here. And my issues didn't start until the last couple years. Buy I had to throw it out there to see if anyone else has gone through this. Thanks in advance!

My teeth are bad...but from years and years of drinking soda.  It just ate away at my enamel.  I have a filling or root canal in every molar now.  It's been 7 years since I have had soda...it's a shame I wish I could go back and never start that horrible habit.  I know there are some people that can drink it and not have any problems....but I am not one of them.   

I hope you get your teeth fixed ASAP and feel better soon. 

I know it's hard but thanks for sharing your experience. I went to the dentist this week for a cleaning and thankfully everything is okay but this is always on my mind. I have read a lot of stories of patients that had dental issues as the years go on. Good luck to you and your upcoming procedure to fix this issue.

I am so sorry you going through that with your teeth and what an amazing dentist to give you implants for free!!! I have been in dental for over 10 years and know that he's basically putting the price of a car in your mouth lol. That is so awesome for you and you are going to love your smile once the work is finished!! But to touch a little bit on the decay issue, WLS enhances it because of the lack on nutrients factor. That's one of the reasons we have to take our vitamins. With you having some issues before the surgery just means you were dealt a crummy hand in teeth department. There are so many different types of bacteria in our mouths and genetics plays a good part of that too. But yeah, the WLS can enhance it just because of lack of nutrients or dehydration. I've seen it many times over the years. Dry mouth will cause anything you eat to stick to your teeth and start chomping away at them. It's similar to cancer patients because with all the medications they get dry mouth and it starts to eat away at their pearly whites. This is why I am going to be good about taking my vitamins once I have surgery because I am terrible at remembering to take them lol. I already have had a lot of work in my mouth and have seen the struggles of others. But honestly...you hit the dental jackpot with him giving you such a wonderful gift and I am so very happy for you!!! 

I have been told by my dentist that the issue I have is dry mouth. Most of this has to do with some of my medications but since wls I am always thirsty. I make sure I use a alcohol free mouthwash at night and morning to help with this

I too have dry mouth due to glaucoma meds. I use all the biotene products and they do help. They make mouthwash, toothpaste, things you can suck on and a couple of other things to help. Your dentist may have samples of available dry mouth products that you can try. If you try products like that I find them far cheaper on ebay than even at Walmart.

no,my teeth are in the same shape post op as they were preop...good shape.

Yeah, mine were too, until the last couple years. The last 6 months they nosedived. I am 8 years out from the surgery.

My teeth were a mess before surgery. I am afraid of the dentist. I also felt a lot of shame that I let them get to that point. I know longer feel shame I have my teeth cleaned every three months to make sure they are healthy. 

My gums are better than they were before. My front teeth have been crowned. I still have work to be done. It is more money than anything from stopping me. I will have it done. 

Be glad you have a dentist who is doing this for you. 

Yes, I have also had the same problem. I now have full dentures. And yes, it is an embarrassing topic for me as well. I had my gastric bypass in 2002.