My dentist gave me a script and I began using it once daily. I also brush 3 other times daily with regular toothpaste with floride. To much floride? My stomach is killing me. Has anyone else had this problem. I hope I am making sense as the stress of the new diagnosis is making my Fibro brain even worse.
It may be. You should talk to your dentist about this. But you should also discuss brushing four times a day. It is possible to damage your teeth with brushing too much. Have you also discussed mouthwash in between?
I brush 5-6 times a day no problems if you use a soft brush and don't press too hard.
I haven't found any problems with ultra strong flouride toothpaste but am not convinced it helps unless you produce saliva as you need calcium (from the saliva) for flouride to have any effect.
I use a "repair" toothpaste containing calcium and flouride to try to over come this.
Hopewell, please read up on Fluoride because it is a toxin, and there might be too much in your system. I hope your water isn't flouridated. I've read that that Fluoride can only strengthen teeth if it is applied directly to the teeth (by the dentist or by you using your toothpaste) but if we drink it, it does no good for our teeth and is a health hazard. So maybe be careful not to swallow any of that toothpaste if you can?
You should read the warning on the back of the tube and you will have your answer. Organic toothpastes are available in organic food stores or online. I hope you feel better soon.
my dentist told me to swish twice a day wiht ACT fluoride mouthwash. The version I bought is called "Restorer" It burns my mouth like heck. I only use a TINY amount and I spit it all out. And I used Biotene fluoride toothpaste.
I have like 8 "TBO"( to be observed) teeth. My goal is to get to my next appointment without any cavities. Is this a possible goal? I bought a waterpik and the dentist told me only to use the stream of water perpendicular to my gums otherwise I can damage my gums and he said regardless, I must still floss. SO that was some wasted money.
I'm sorry I really have to disagree with the previous 2 posters.
It seems to be a widely held belief in the USA that flouride is "toxic"
I can find no scientific evidence that flouride at the levels used in "prescription" toothpastes has any significant harmful effects in adults even if ingested accidentally.
Anecdotally I have used it for years and do not spit out totally so as to keep the flouride in contact with the teeth.
I have severe xerostomia and xeropthalmia as part of SS and have had no ill effects despite having the usual acid reflux due to lack of mucous and saliva/calcium.
Organic does not mean free from harm - there are toxic "organic" products. - I believe in growing food "organically" so as to be free from pesticies and to do less harm to the environment but the incorrect use of the term organic can be very misleading and is the most over used marketing hype to justify higher prices.
Far more worried about GM crops than anything as they can be called organic but are probably very harmful for the environment and wildlife as well as the poor farmers that are forced to pay massive prices for GM seed
As for flouride in water there is very clear evidence that it reduces caries and has no significant recorded toxicity even after 70 years use as has been the case in birmingham UK.
As I posted before flourides need to be present in conjunction with calcium ions to have benefit and one of the main problems in SS xerostomia is that we produce very little calcium as we produce very little saliva so the prescription toothpastes have limited value in us unless you supplement with calcium ions in another toothpaste mixed with it.
(please ask your dentist who should confirm this scientific fact)
Hence my comments in my first post.
Sadly the only mixed toothpaset sensodyne "repair and protect" is not available in the USA.
The truth is that the main beefit of brushing your teeth is mechanical - it removes some of the bacteria and acids/carbohydrates they produce from the breakdown of sugars and complex carbohydrates in the diet.
BUT in our case evry little helps so limited remineralisation by combibed flourides and calcium has small benefit.
The best thing we can do for our teeth is
NOT DRINK CARBONATED WATER - it is acidic and dissolves the enamel rapidly especially when there is little saliva.
NOT DRINK SUGARY DRINKS - even worse CARBONATED SUGARY DRINKS.
Not eat simple sugars and drink lots of fresh water (ideally slightly alkaline pH 7.2) with our food to dilute and neutralise any acids/sugars present (almost impossible in today's world to get any food free from sugar).
Brush often but gently with a soft toothbrush.
Mouthwashes can be an issue not because of flouride but because most contain alcohol, parfumes,mint and other additives that burn the hell out of my mouth ( they even were unpleasant before I got SS).
There are alcohol free washes which help a lot.
Please don't panic the stomach problem may be coincidental - the only way to find out is to do a controlled test yourself.
But if worried avoid swallowing the toothpaste and speak to your dentist.
Before any one leaps up and down please reread this post carefully - I am a biologist and dislike unecessary exposure to chemicals.
Hopewell: I would consider an experiment where you use the dentist's script once a day and a fluoride toothpaste before bed, but perhaps use a non fluoride toothpaste the other times or some variation of this. It's very hard to say if the Fluoride is bothering you, but it if it started right after you started using the RX, it is a small but real possibility. I've had some good luck with BAD Gerd drinking some water with a 1/2 teaspoon of sodium barcobinate now and again. But it's not good for high blood pressure and for this reason and probably others, perhaps not good to do all the time. I can say it helps me tremendously/almost immediately when I have bad stomach woes (probably from GERD).
I too am confused by all of this re: fluoride. I have been listening to a woman well into her eighties that has SS. My thoughts are she has been through hexx and back and might have a few things to offer from experience alone. She has had many dental problems... in the past , not currently. She will NOT do those fluoride treatments at the dental office because she feels that they dry her mouth and might not be healthy for a person. She DOES however, use Biotene toothpaste with fluoride and she uses a waterpik that she puts a little ACT Mouthwash with fluoride (non alcohol) in the water. She says it is imperative to brush and floss regularly. She uses a waterpik several times a week and gets professional cleanings often...about three times a year. She also feels it is IMPERATIVE to stop eating sugar. Period. She described her diet to me and it is really excellent. She does go to Whole Foods a lot.
I have gone back and forth on this issue about the Flouride. Right at the moment (warning/could change at any moment) I think since there is evidence that fluoride helps prevent caries and we are up $#@! creek when it comes to being prone to caries, I think it is in our best interest to use fluoride in our toothpaste. However, I don't see any point in using it excessively or DRINKING IT IN OUR WATER. I do NOT get that at all. I think that is just weird. Penicillin kills germs, but I wouldn't want it in my water to prevent getting the flu, etc. So, I think we probably should have the fluoride in our toothpaste, but avoid swallowing it. And I'm not really big on mouthwash, since there seems to be other things in it...maybe the ACT Toothpaste with fluoride and without alcohol is one of the better ones since it comes up a lot. ???? Not sure, but maybe my "take" on it is sort of middle of the road...it seems my friend has more or less gone this route too and she has been doing well.
thank you Assbish for your insight....and I am amazed about the calcium/fluoride connection. I see the dentist this week...will probably bring it up!
I might start a thread on good waters....but does anyone have any good water recommendations? My thoughts are a good water would have a BPA free or glass water bottle (if we are talking about bottles) a PH that is slightly alkaline, NO FLOURIDE, and of course as pure as possible....although I'm not sure about everything I need to be looking for.
I'm all over the place on this one. I like Fiji, Mountain Valley (comes in glass bottle), Evian and lately I drink now and again Essentia....but it has a very high ph of about 9.5.(So maybe this is good for occasional use???) I've heard about Berkey (sp?) water filters as a good possibility, but unsure about their PH.
You folks are the best. Thank you for all your feedback regarding Fluride. This is a new journey for me and it seems that everything new I try is making me sick. To much sugar alcohol such xylitol and to much floride seems to kill my already crummy stomach. I guess I will use regular toothpaste with floride 2x daily and the other 2 times without flouride as an experiment.
You sounds like a smart person, HOPEWELL! I hope you find what works for you. I think we have to experiment with what works best (and what does not) with ourselves. NOMAD -- I buy the Mountain Valley Spring in the glass 2.5 gallon bottles for home. It's pricey, but it's amazing how much my fatigue went away after only 3 days drinking it. "They" are now saying the BPA-free bottles are worse than the regular plastic. Yeesh. What next? They tell us one thing is safe -- like the polycarbonate bottles -- and then they come out and say, "oh, wait. It wasn't safe after all and is worse than regular plastic." I give up. But I try and buy and use things in glass and stainless steel as much as I can.
DLT88...OMG! What in the world? I can't keep up with all of this change.
Question re: Mountain Valley Spring. I was buying the smaller bottles. One day, I drank half and forgot about it. I left it in the kitchen. The next morning I noticed it. I figured it was still safe to drink. It was covered with the twist top. I don't think it had even been 24 hours. So, I started to drink it. :( It tasted terrible. Has something like this ever happened to you? It does seem like a very good choice. The glass bottles are nice!
Gosh, that's odd, NOMAD. I'll have to read what the outside of those green bottles say. I have a bottle of Whole Foods brand Italian Still mineral water on my desk, and it says to consume within 5 days. Huh. I thought water didn't spoil? Maybe it has something to do with the minerals in it. Streams are always nice cold water so maybe the minerals taste best when they are kept cold. I get the water delivery and put it in my water crock and haven't noticed any taste difference -- but then, again, it's all closed off with the bottle upside down in the crock so no air is hitting it.
excuse my ignorance. What is a water crock? do you keep it in the fridge?
You can find water crocks on-line. They are made from pottery -- the inside is SUPPOSED to be safe for water or beverages. To use it for water, I pick up the glass 2.5-gallon water bottle and put it on the top upside down. The crock has a spigot just like those regular water dispensers.
I was looking at them online. Walmart has one for $31 although I do question the quality of anything bought at Walmart. I think it sounds like a great idea. We go through MASSIVE numbers of 16 oz water bottles. It kills me to waste that much plastic and put it into the environment.
Thanks for the info
Good idea, Qadosh. Amazon sells some, too. I think I got mine through watercrockshop dot com. Some times they have some good sales on them on certain designs at certain times.
My rheumatologist has a special interest in Sjogren's and he advised me to keep away from mouthwashes so I follow his advice and never use them.
Ali said:
My rheumatologist has a special interest in Sjogren's and he advised me to keep away from mouthwashes so I follow his advice and never use them.
Ali, did he give you any reason why he doesn’t like mouthwash? I’ve never trusted them fully because of ingredient lists I don’t understand and I know alchol is bad. I have the Biotene and Act non alcohol with Flouride and they last me a loooong time because I use them very rarely.
my dentist advised me to use ACT fluoride rinse. He also put a fluoride "varnish" on my teeth, which is a treatment they use on children. The "version" of ACT I got says "RESTORE" on the bottle. It really burns my mouth. The type of ACT I had last did not do that. I didn't read the ingredients as I cannot read small type even with my glasses on.