Serious Teeth problems after gastric bypass several years ago???

[Prestonandme 107]

9 minutes ago, Grammie2 said:

I can understand the stomach acid causing teeth problems - did you have GERD issues before the surgery?

No, I never had GERD.

[Grammie2 37]

2 minutes ago, Prestonandme said:

No, I never had GERD.

Well, I’m so sorry that has happened to you, I’m sure that was/is frustrating and expensive on top of the life changes you’ve had with the WLS. Are you still taking all your supplements you took right after surgery? I know some have opted to just take a regular or even children’s chewable vitamins, but I’d hate to take the chance. There have been a few who say they have had severe teeth problems since their surgery, so you are not alone, but thankfully it doesn’t seem to be a big problem. I’m going to ask about it when I go to my family dr and the Bariatric dr again in January.

[Prestonandme 107]

17 minutes ago, Grammie2 said:

Are you still taking all your supplements you took right after surgery? I know some have opted to just take a regular or even children’s chewable vitamins, but I’d hate to take the chance. There have been a few who say they have had severe teeth problems since their surgery, so you are not alone, but thankfully it doesn’t seem to be a big problem. I’m going to ask about it when I go to my family dr and the Bariatric dr again in January.

Yes, I take my bariatric vitamin/mineral supplements every day. My former roommate had WLS ten years ago and has had a lot of dental problems, too, including the loss of two teeth, but that could be due to other factors.

[Grammie2 37]

6 hours ago, Prestonandme said:

Yes, I take my bariatric vitamin/mineral supplements every day. My former roommate had WLS ten years ago and has had a lot of dental problems, too, including the loss of two teeth, but that could be due to other factors.

Thanks for your input. I wouldn’t want to undo this operation, but I’ll certainly be interested to see how this all plays out over time. Congratulations on all your weightloss!! You are an awesome example of how to go about it!!! How long did it take for you to meet your goal? I’m going very slowly right now. Had started at 4 lbs. a week for 3 weeks or so, and went down to 2 then 1 for the last couple weeks. I struggle so much with getting Water and Protein. Now that I’m on regular food I don’t drink those stinkin high Protein Shakes anymore, and I know that’s probably a lot of it, but I’m not hungry most of the time. I know my taste has changed. But if I can keep losing at least 1 pound a week I’ll get there........just slower...... YOU ROCK!

[Prestonandme 107]

32 minutes ago, Grammie2 said:

Thanks for your input. I wouldn’t want to undo this operation, but I’ll certainly be interested to see how this all plays out over time. Congratulations on all your weightloss!! You are an awesome example of how to go about it!!! How long did it take for you to meet your goal? I’m going very slowly right now. Had started at 4 lbs. a week for 3 weeks or so, and went down to 2 then 1 for the last couple weeks. I struggle so much with getting Water and Protein. Now that I’m on regular food I don’t drink those stinkin high Protein Shakes anymore, and I know that’s probably a lot of it, but I’m not hungry most of the time. I know my taste has changed. But if I can keep losing at least 1 pound a week I’ll get there........just slower...... YOU ROCK!

I think you'll be fine if you are scheduling regular dental checkups and cleanings. We can't predict our dental outcomes but we can prevent many problems by being vigilant, taking our vitamins/minerals, and investing financially in our dental health.

As for my weight loss, even my surgeon does not know how I got down to 121 lbs. He had predicted I would end up at about 150 lbs. I did no more or less than any other WLS patient in terms of diet and exercise, but since surgery, I've struggled a lot with nausea problems and noticed that after extended bouts that lasted a few days (when I hardly ate anything) I would drop several pounds. I'm actually in a weird situation right now where I am working with my nutritionist to stabilize my weight by increasing healthy fats, drinking Ensure during nausea bouts, and eating very small meals before bedtime.

Don't be discouraged about losing 1 lb. a week. We all reach a point in our weight loss when it slows down quite a bit. Keep up the good habits and you'll reach your goal!

[Grammie2 37]

1 hour ago, Prestonandme said:

I think you'll be fine if you are scheduling regular dental checkups and cleanings. We can't predict our dental outcomes but we can prevent many problems by being vigilant, taking our vitamins/minerals, and investing financially in our dental health.

As for my weight loss, even my surgeon does not know how I got down to 121 lbs. He had predicted I would end up at about 150 lbs. I did no more or less than any other WLS patient in terms of diet and exercise, but since surgery, I've struggled a lot with nausea problems and noticed that after extended bouts that lasted a few days (when I hardly ate anything) I would drop several pounds. I'm actually in a weird situation right now where I am working with my nutritionist to stabilize my weight by increasing healthy fats, drinking Ensure during nausea bouts, and eating very small meals before bedtime.

Don't be discouraged about losing 1 lb. a week. We all reach a point in our weight loss when it slows down quite a bit. Keep up the good habits and you'll reach your goal!

Is the Ensure in addition to all your Vitamin supplements? I sometimes have nausea, but only threw up once. But my nausea isn’t 24/7 or anything like that. Has the advice of the nutrition helped you a lot? Which Ensure do you drink?

Edited December 23, 2020 by Grammie2
Forgot to ask a ??

[Prestonandme 107]

1 hour ago, Grammie2 said:

Is the Ensure in addition to all your Vitamin supplements? I sometimes have nausea, but only threw up once. But my nausea isn’t 24/7 or anything like that. Has the advice of the nutrition helped you a lot? Which Ensure do you drink?

Absolutely. Even on my worst nausea days, I make sure I take my vitamin/mineral supplements. My nutritionist is fantastic. She makes herself available by email/phone five days a week and does not charge for the updated short consultations.

I drink Ensure Plus on nausea days. I prefer the strawberry flavor. It's very inexpensive and doesn't taste too bad.

[Grammie2 37]

Ha! I read all these messages about teeth being bad after WLS and didn’t have the problem......UNTIL! I went to the dentist for the first time since my surgery, and also hadn’t been there in over a year and had 5 areas on my teeth with cavities! I ALWAYS (since adulthood) had great checkups. I could hardly believe it! He asked me if I had GERD, and I said yes, I’ve had it for YEARS and I’m on pantoprazole even now, but he said acid is causing my problems. I have no problems with GERD being on the medicine, so what else could it be??? He also gave me a script for the strong fluoride toothpaste, but doesn’t know if he can save my molars! Great news! Just thought I’d share! I am not on a Calcium supplement.

[catwoman7 10,846]

1 hour ago, Grammie2 said:

Ha! I read all these messages about teeth being bad after WLS and didn’t have the problem......UNTIL! I went to the dentist for the first time since my surgery, and also hadn’t been there in over a year and had 5 areas on my teeth with cavities! I ALWAYS (since adulthood) had great checkups. I could hardly believe it! He asked me if I had GERD, and I said yes, I’ve had it for YEARS and I’m on pantoprazole even now, but he said acid is causing my problems. I have no problems with GERD being on the medicine, so what else could it be??? He also gave me a script for the strong fluoride toothpaste, but doesn’t know if he can save my molars! Great news! Just thought I’d share! I am not on a Calcium supplement.

it's usually due to GERD or perhaps dry mouth (if you have that). I've been on Prevident (that ultra-high fluoride toothpaste) since I had surgery six years ago. My dentist said that can go a long way toward preventing damage from acid. As far as dry mouth, things like Biotene products (or the generic form - sprays, mouthwash, lozenges) can help - so can things like gum or breath mints with xylitol in them. And be sure to keep well hydrated, too.

P.S. there's some thought that people who've had WLS have more acidic saliva than normal people - but that toothpaste should help with that. I also get a fluoride varnish brushed on my teeth every six months (by the dental hygienist)

Edited March 19, 2021 by catwoman7

[Grammie2 37]

On 3/19/2021 at 3:07 PM, catwoman7 said:

it's usually due to GERD or perhaps dry mouth (if you have that). I've been on Prevident (that ultra-high fluoride toothpaste) since I had surgery six years ago. My dentist said that can go a long way toward preventing damage from acid. As far as dry mouth, things like Biotene products (or the generic form - sprays, mouthwash, lozenges) can help - so can things like gum or breath mints with xylitol in them. And be sure to keep well hydrated, too.

P.S. there's some thought that people who've had WLS have more acidic saliva than normal people - but that toothpaste should help with that. I also get a fluoride varnish brushed on my teeth every six months (by the dental hygienist)

I just got the special toothpaste, and believe I had been on Biotine for several years until the surgery, then wondered if I should stay on it, so I stopped. But yes, I also have dry mouth, I think from my pravastatin for cholesterol? I’ve been on that for so long I don’t remember why anymore but that sounded good....lol thank you for telling me about that, because I thought it sounded really strange, but now I see it’s not so strange! Did you tell your Bariatric surgeon or the dietician? They should warn people about that! Thanks again for answering my message topic!

Edited March 21, 2021 by Grammie2
Misspelling anymore

[catwoman7 10,846]

42 minutes ago, Grammie2 said:

I just got the special toothpaste, and believe I had been on Biotine for several years until the surgery, then wondered if I should stay on it, so I stopped. But yes, I also have dry mouth, I think from my pravastatin for cholesterol? I’ve been on that for so long I don’t remember why anymore but that sounded good....lol thank you for telling me about that, because I thought it sounded really strange, but now I see it’s not so strange! Did you tell your Bariatric surgeon or the dietician? They should warn people about that! Thanks again for answering my message topic!

it's a known issue, but it seems to be pretty uncommon. My dentist had read about it in the professional (dental) literature, but he'd never actually seen it in any of his patients who've had WLS. But no, since I personally haven't had issues with it, I've never mentioned it to my bariatric surgeon or dietitian. But i'm sure they know it happens to some people.

[Cole69 0]

You can be delighted, because fluoride is good for teeth! Trust doctors, why think and talk about them as if they were your enemies?

[Grammie2 37]

I’m sorry you thought I don’t trust my doctors. I didn’t mean that at all. They give you a list of all different things that can happen to you as a result of the Gastric Bypass surgery, and I did not see anything about bone loss in your jaw. I don’t know that it would have changed my mind about the surgery, but it’s good to know that this is also a possibility. I trust my doctors and I am still glad I had the surgery.

[DaisyAndSunshine 301]

On 12/21/2020 at 11:21 AM, Grammie2 said:

My niece says she had gastric bypass surgery about 11 years ago now. We hadn’t seen her for a couple years and she says the gastric bypass surgery caused her to lose all her teeth. Never heard of this— is this something to be concerned about?? She has a lot of other problems besides this, but just wanted to throw this question out there and see what comes back.

Vitamin C definitely?! It can cause scurvy that can lead to loss of teeth!

[DaisyAndSunshine 301]

2 hours ago, DaisyAndSunshine said:

Vitamin C definitely?! It can cause scurvy that can lead to loss of teeth!

Deficiency*