Teeth troubles with steroids???

[BJK7493@aol.com]

has anyone had any trouble with there teeth breaking off while on high dose steroids?  I have had 3 teeth break in the last week.  I am currently on IVIG, today is my fourth dose. It just seems like my teeth are all crumblimg!

julie

[Maz]

[user=2307]BJK7493@aol.com[/user] wrote:

has anyone had any trouble with there teeth breaking off while on high dose steroids?  I have had 3 teeth break in the last week.  I am currently on IVIG, today is my fourth dose. It just seems like my teeth are all crumblimg!

Hi Julie,

So sorry to hear about your teeth. Yes, prednisone can and does cause bone loss and osteoporosis over the long term. High dose courses may also have the same effect, but not sure in the shorter term…something to check with your rxing physician?

Teeth sit in bone in the jaw, making them susceptible to bone loss in this area. Apart from the seemingly miraculous pain relief that prednisone affords, there are no nice side-effects of this drug, unfortunately. If you do a websearch on “prednisone and bone loss,” you'll find quite a bit comes up.

One way docs may try to ameliorate bone loss is to rx osteoporosis drugs, but these also come with their own serious side-effects, like the development of calcifications and bone spurs. With the increased risks of cancer with DM, I'd personally be concerned about these drugs.

A Friend has posted many times on acidosis and how inflammation and meds may cause this condition, which the body tries to correct by leaching calcium from the bones. It's commonly thought that calcium replacement can fix this problem, but calcium cannot be absorbed by the body without adequate Vit D and magnesium. Magesium actually lowers body pH, reduces acidosis and helps the body to absorb calcium. You can do a search on A Friend's posts by using the search box above to read about acidosis and bone loss.

I haven't personally been able to use prednisone due to my dx of Lyme, but hope others will share their experiences with you, Julie….so sorry to hear about your teeth.

Peace, Maz

[BJK7493@aol.com]

Thanks for the reply.  If it is not one thing it's another! You try to fix one thing and another goes bad. I guess I will just have to live with it

julie

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