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I’m part of an bypass FB group and someone recently posted about their oral health and the overall state of their teeth is awful since getting surgery. How can this be avoided? I really love my teefs. They’re purdy.

Edited by Kimmie K

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I’ve heard the chewable vitamins can be rough of the teeth, because particles of the Vitamin will get stuck in the teeth/gum for awhile. On the flip side, vitamin deficiencies can also cause dental problems... https://www.barilife.com/blog/secret-complication-after-bariatric-surgery-2/

Also- keep in mind that increases nausea is a bit of a problem that many of us face. Stomach acids are awful on tooth enamel. You can read up best practices for cleaning up post-vomit here: https://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-32/issue-1/columns/preventing-dental-erosion-in-the-pregnant-patient.html.

The article references pregnant patients, but the basic point is that stomach acid is, well, acid and you should try to neutralize the acid in your mouth, as opposed to brushing the acid all over and into the teeth.

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Make sure you get enough vit D & Calcium and keep up a good dental hygiene routine and that should be enough

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Sometimes the people that post with tooth issues are those that either have not taken Calcium supplements or have not followed up with proper lab work or dental visits.

Doing those three things can help avoid dental problems.

Some people naturally have bad teeth genetics wise as well.

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My doctor told me that you can only absorb a certain amount of Calcium at once so I take it 3x a day. You also have to take Iron 4 hours before or after the Calcium so I take Calcium with meals and Iron before bed. My doctor recommended Viactiv Calcium +Vitamin D3 Supplement Soft Chews, Caramel, 100 Chews - Calcium Dietary Supplement for Bone Health by Viactiv and I like it.

I also brush almost every time I eat with a Quip electric toothbrush, because it's very soft, and use a Philips Sonicare HX8211/02 Airfloss Rechargeable Electric Flosser.

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Awesome...this is all good to hear. Oral hygiene and health has always been a HUGE deal to me. Team Sonicare for years. The DiamondClean toothbrush has amazed my dentist. He's like "Holy cow, what kind of toothbrush are you using?!" Thanks for all the input, folks!

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I'd personally dump the chewable vitamins as soon as you can per your doc's instructs. I agree that the chewables feel like they are hard on my teeth health. The chewable Iron has stained my enamel at my gum line terribly! I'm trying to find carbonyl iron pills now to replace my Celebrate Iron Chewables.

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I am 70 and still have all my original teeth except for on molar and my wisdom teeth. I had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago and it did not affect my teeth at all.

Like others have said, it is extremely important to follow the surgeon's guidelines on daily Vitamin intake after surgery. A lack of Calcium can destroy your teeth and bones.

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1 hour ago, FluffyChix said:

I'd personally dump the chewable vitamins as soon as you can per your doc's instructs. I agree that the chewables feel like they are hard on my teeth health. The chewable Iron has stained my enamel at my gum line terribly! I'm trying to find carbonyl Iron pills now to replace my Celebrate Iron chewables.

What do you take for Calcium? That's my only chewable.

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I don't see very many posts about people having dental issues (a few, but not very often), and my dentist hasn't seen any problems with his WLS patients, so while it does happen to some, I don't get the sense it's terribly common.

My dentist said it's most likely due to acid (e.g. from vomiting or unmanaged GERD), but it could also be that people aren't being consistent with their supplements. My dentist gave me a prescription for some super-high-fluoride toothpaste that I use every night before bed, and he also does a fluoride varnish on my teeth every six months. He said if I *am* one of those people with acidic saliva, those two things will go a long way in preventing any problems. I'd say keep up with your dental hygiene and dental visits, and let your dentist know you're having WLS and are concerned about your teeth and see what he/she suggests.

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Im a dental hygienist and 2 main things will cause dental problems 1is not getting the proper Vitamins and acids from the stomach can be very damaging to the teeth. I always tell my pregnant pts to rinse with Water after they vomit and try to control acid reflux. Dont brush directly after getting sick it will brush the acids into the teeth wait about 30 minutes.

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Sharon21, thank you for the advice, very helpful!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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