Dialysis and teeth

[BigDadii]

 
Hello it's me again.
I've been on dialysis for going on 4 years now. Here is my question.Is there a side effect of dialysis on your teeth. I like to eat ice. My teeth have become sensitive to heat and cold. If I eat the equivalent to three pieces of ice my teeth begin to hurt. It may come 10 - 30 Min's. later but it will come. Whats crazy is if I put another piece of ice in my mouth it stops the pain.

Please help.

[MooseMom]

My mom, who has been on dialysis for 5 years, likes to eat ice, too.  I can hear that woman chomping from Texas to Chicago!  She has told me that dialysis hasn't had an effect so much on her teeth as it has on her mouth; she has a dry mouth a lot of the time.  Her dentist has told her that eating ice will, over time, wear down her teeth and has suggested she use Biotene mouthwash as it is formulated especially for people with medical conditions that give them a dry mouth.  I've tried it myself and it is very nice.  Perhaps you should think about exactly why you like to eat ice and then think of a different way to get the same satisfaction.  Do you have trouble with dry mouth?

[BigDadii]

Yes I have dry mouth. I am also a mouth breather.  I guess both mouth breathing and dialysis contributes to my dry mouth.

[sullidog]

My dentist told me that dialysis really doesn't have any affect on the teeth.
Troy

[jbeany]

My dentist told me that dialysis really doesn't have any affect on the teeth.
Troy

No offense, Troy, but your dentist is a bit clueless.  He's partly right; the process of dialysis cleaning your blood won't affect your teeth.  The side effects of the changes kidney failure makes to your body certainly will.  High phos levels will leach calcium out of bones and teeth both, weakening them considerably.  Constant anemia leads to a craving to chew ice.  The dry mouth that goes with fluid restrictions encourages the habit.  Heck, the docs and nurses encourage the habit to keep us from overloading on fluid.  Chewing ice is murder on your teeth and can crack fillings.  The inability to drink as much fluid as you want also means an inability to naturally rinse food particles from your teeth, leading to a higher cavity risk.

Big Daddi, have you tried Sensodyne toothpaste?  Stopping the ice chewing would help, no doubt, but it's not a practical answer for anyone on D.  I stopped completely after my transplant, without even thinking about it, so I can vouch that's it's anemia related.

[Malibu]

OK, so why doesn't Medicare cover dental visits?   

[jbeany]

"Cause they are penny wise and pound foolish.  Michigan's medicaid even stopped paying for dental check-ups for adults, too.  They still cover emergencies, though.  It's supposed to save the budget - but all it does is keep people from preventing problems in the first place, so rather than fix a little cavity, the taxpayers pay for root canals later.

[BigDadii]

I am currently using Arm and Hammer for sensitive teeth. I did try Sensodyne toothpaste once. It didn't seem to work. I am thinking of trying the new Sensodyne toothpaste. I'll let yall know.

[gothiclovemonkey]

I too have really sensitive teeth since i started dialyis, ive only had one cavity my whole life, when i was a small child. I have great teeth otherwise, and it drives me nuts having this sensitivity now! I tried sensidyne and it seemed to make it worse. Also, my tongue has gone completely insane. I brush my tongue every day, and it seems like i need to do it even more now, i feel like i have a fur coat on it, it drives me crazy. You would think if i DIDNT do it every day it would feel that way, but i do, sometimes many times a day. To the point ive actually injured my tongue!
An alt to chewing ice, GUM! its not quite as nice, but it helps. I cant get enough. Unfortunately the only way fo me to get rid of the gum is to swallow it. For some ungodly reason my body will not allow me to take it out of my mouth. Its like a really bad addiction, so not so sure if u want to pick up that nasty little habit.
Sometimes i think that kidney failure has caused me to pick up some really odd habits and tics, but then i remember... ive always been a bit nuts 

[natnnnat]

Hi gothic squrl, glad to see you burst onto the boards, what a honey you seem :-)
I have sensitive teeth, and that's because I grind them.  I'm not a renal patient (that's the husband) so my sensitivity isn't about dialysis.  Yours may well be about dialysis, but then again... you chew gum.  I grind my teeth... maybe your teeth are getting ground too  much like mine are?  Mine have started to break.  Also if you look at my lower front teeth, you can see the marks where the upper front teeth fit down over them.  Yup, my glorious overbite, revealed.  Anyway, so the past few years I've been trying to grind less.  Maybe its working, haven't had any breakages for awhile.

[gothiclovemonkey]

my dad grinds his teeth as well, they do make guards for that, he doesnt use one though.
I just recently, within this year started the gum chewing like a maniac lol had the sensitivity longer, but im positive it doesnt help! The sensitivity is ... well i can handle that, the tongue issue is whats driving me crazy!