Severe dental issues: a connection?

[allmadeofstars]

hello...i am incredibly messed up and have been for years - severe depression, anxiety, insomnia, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, ptsd, and most recently for the first time in my life i have developed paranoia, not hallucinations, just extreme paranoia, (i think i have no privacy even when i do - i feel that i am being watched and listened to all the time even when i am in my room alone.)
i also have had dental problems since i was a child, needless to say i had parents who didnt really do what they were supposed to so i never learned to brush my teeth. now i am 26 and my teeth are literally falling out. i dont speak about this to ANYONE ever, it is the most shameful, disgusting, pathetic part of myself.
i have not seen a dentist since my teens because of bad experiences there. i know when i see one eventually, i will become the laughing-stock of the dental staff, i will be the running joke of the office clientele. im not naive.
my question is...can severe tooth decay and/or gum disease cause any psychological symptoms? i ask because my life only gets worse and more dreary each year. i gave up on my teeth, just like everything else, but maybe if i try to fix whats left of my teeth my mental symptoms might not be so severe? i have been disabled for a few years...a very depressing fact in itself. i am on medi-cal and have been told by several people who work in health services and are familiar with the one and only dental place here that takes medi-cal that the only option they choose for any tooth that is infected it to remove it. i am scared because i know they will have to remove all of my teeth, or the vast majority, and i am not sure if medi-cal is going to buy me all new teeth! it seems like that would be too expensive for them! and i guess i have put it off for so long because i know i will have to become a shut-in (again) if i do not have any teeth.
i attempted suicide last year and i am just trying to stay alive in case i'm supposed to have children.
right now, it doesnt look like it. my hair is falling out and my body is malnurished from all of my combined symptoms/disorders/illnesses/problems whatever you call them and i am not sure if i will be able to have a child.
but just in case i get lucky one time, im asking about this now.
thanks.

 

[ThatLady]

Decayed teeth release poisons into the system, so they effect the body as a whole, including your emotional well-being. I'd suggest you get your teeth fixed as quickly as possible.

Believe me, I understand your fear. I'm not afraid of rampaging elephants or hungry lions, but I'm terrified of dentists. I do know, however, that infected teeth are serious business and require treatment as quickly as treatment can be arranged.

 

[Eunoia]

i know when i see one eventually, i will become the laughing-stock of the dental staff, i will be the running joke of the office clientele. im not naive.

you will not be ridiculed b/c you have problems w/ your teeth, any competent dentist would be more professional than to laugh at your situation. and it's not funny so why would they laugh? I do understand you dreading to go to the dentist, it's certainly not a walk in the park to say the least, espec. if there're problems... I delayed going to the dentist too for several years (1st there were no problems, then it was always "too much $" and in the end I was scared to go, but still thought there wasn't too much of a prob), well I was wrong; I ended up going and have had to invest a lot of $ for fillings, most of which could have probably been prevented w/ regular check ups (I do have ed problems too but still, checkups would have helped). Speaking of ed's, those are definitely contributing to your overall dental problems. trust me. 80%+ of people w/ bulimia have some kind of dental problem. it is NOT worth it to drag this out any longer, b/c in the end you will have to pay for it and if there's anything you can do now then that's better than waiting until things get even worse.

I don't know about the whole dental-mental health connection, but if you think about it, knowing you have dental problems and not (being able to) fix them can cause you anxiety, deepen your depression, dental pain can contribute to insomnia, your eds worsen the condition of your teeth and accelerate decay, depression makes you less able to go and seek help, the bacteria released by the decay may worsen the impact on your overall health if you have an already low immune system etc.... it's all connected in one way or another. I really do hope that you will seek out a competent (make sure this person IS competent) dentist and get your teeth fixed.

if you're not quite sure what your insurance covers, I would go check that out and be realistic about what will be covered, what is left for you to pay and if those dental visists are important (and they sound like they are) what kind of help is out there to help you pay... you don't know what the dentist will do until you go and discuss a treatment plan. do "shop" around if you can, see what different dentists say what they can do, save, what needs to be done asap...

here's some links that may help:

Mouth-body connection

Oral health and your overall health

American Dental Assoc.

Medicaid Oral Health Contacts

 

[Retired]

The practice of dentistry has evolved since the days of a quick slug of whiskey in the barber chair to a specialized sub specialty of medicine with a refined understanding personal care and patient comfort.

Today's dentistry is acutely tuned in to patient comfort and legitimate anxiety issues with strategies to deal with these issues.

If one has avoided dental care because of fears that stem from frightening childhood experiences, they would be well advised to visit several dental practices, preferably some which are referred by word of mouth.

Explain your concerns and most dentists will be pleased to meet with you, allow you to tour their facility and re assure you about your legitimate concerns.

After visiting a few dental practices, you will have collected enough information about the style and competence of the practitioners to make an informed choice about the one with whom you feel most comfortable.

Dentistry recognizes past failures in the Profession to address patient anxiety, and the Profession has made great strides to provide the practitioner as well as the patient strategies to deal with the issue.

Fear of dentistry should no longer be a concern.

 

[AVC]

You should all look into the effect mercury fillings have, this material causes all types of mental disorders and physical illnesses, the dental industry has used amalgam fillings that are highly toxic for hundreds of years.

Mercury is highly toxic to human tissues and nerves and the dental industry is still putting it in humans.

Just run a simple search on "mercury fillings TMD TMJ" and you will find shocking data.

 

[Mari]

Just run a simple search on "mercury fillings TMD TMJ" and you will find shocking data.

I am not sure the information on mercury fillings is helpful and it is my understanding that most dentists have switched to less toxic filling material.
I did not go to a dentist for similar reasons until the absolute pain forced me to. If I had gone sooner it would have been cheaper and less painful. I have had to switch dentists several times but I am reasonably comfortable with the dentist I have now. When she realized I did not have dental coverage she told me I could pay a set amount each month rather than the entire bill on each visit. At first everyone in the office thought I was very odd because as soon as I step inside a dental office I am so terrified that I can not speak. Now they are used to it and because no one at this office treated me badly I have become comfortable enough to talk a bit. I am still no chatterbox but they did manage to save most of my teeth. Good luck on your dental issues. Mari

 

[AVC]

Mercury fillings are still used and are approved by the ADA last time I looked, but these fillings are highly toxic and damaging the heath of millions to this day, possibly billions of people worldwide.

The issue is fought over within the industry because of the tremendous legal liability faced by dental suppliers, teaching hospitals and universities and dentists, so many that are involved will not even comment on this issue, especially if they are still using this outdated technology.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fillings.asp

Amalgam Fillings
Used by dentists for more than a century, dental amalgam is the most thoroughly researched and tested restorative material among all those in use. It is durable, easy to use, highly resistant to wear and relatively inexpensive in comparison to other materials. For those reasons, it remains a valued treatment option for dentists and their patients.

Dental amalgam is a stable alloy made by combining elemental mercury, silver, tin, copper and possibly other metallic elements. Although dental amalgam continues to be a safe, commonly used restorative material, some concern has been raised because of its mercury content. However, the mercury in amalgam combines with other metals to render it stable and safe for use in filling teeth.

While questions have arisen about the safety of dental amalgam relating to its mercury content, the major U.S. and international scientific and health bodies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization, among others have been satisfied that dental amalgam is a safe, reliable and effective restorative material.

Because amalgam fillings can withstand very high chewing loads, they are particularly useful for restoring molars in the back of the mouth where chewing load is greatest. They are also useful in areas where a cavity preparation is difficult to keep dry during the filling replacement, such as in deep fillings below the gum line. Amalgam fillings, like other filling materials, are considered biocompatible?they are well tolerated by patients with only rare occurrences of allergic response.

Disadvantages of amalgam include possible short-term sensitivity to hot or cold after the filling is placed. The silver-colored filling is not as natural looking as one that is tooth-colored, especially when the restoration is near the front of the mouth, and shows when the patient laughs or speaks. And to prepare the tooth, the dentist may need to remove more tooth structure to accommodate an amalgam filling than for other types of fillings.

The "Mercury Toxicity" Scam: How Anti-Amalgamists Swindle People

More than half a century ago, Orson Welles panicked his radio audience by reporting that Martians had invaded New Jersey. On December 23, 1990, CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" achieved a similar effect by announcing that toxins have invaded the American mouth. There was, however, a big difference. Welles' broadcast was intended to be entertaining. The "60 Minutes" broadcast, narrated by veteran reporter Morley Safer, was intended to alarm?to persuade its audience that the mercury in dental fillings is a poison. It was the most irresponsible report on a health topic ever broadcast on network television.

Mercury is a component of the amalgam used for "silver" fillings. The other major ingredients are silver, tin, copper, and zinc. When mixed, these elements bond to form a strong, stable substance. The difference between bound and unbound chemicals can be illustrated by a simple analogy. Elemental hydrogen is an explosive gas. Elemental oxygen is a gas that supports combustion. When combined, however, they form water, which has neither of these effects. Amalgam's ingredients are tightly bonded to each other. Although the types of chemical bonds in water and amalgam differ, saying that amalgam will poison you is just as wrong as saying that drinking water will make you explode and burst into flames.

Very sensitive instruments can detect billionths of a gram of mercury vapor in the mouth of a person with amalgam fillings. However, the minuscule amount of mercury the body absorbs from amalgams is far below the level that exerts any adverse health effect [1-6]. One study found that people with symptoms they related to amalgam fillings did not have significant mercury levels. The study compared ten symptomatic patients and eight patients with no reported health complaints. The symptom group had neither a higher estimated daily uptake of inhaled mercury vapor, nor a higher mercury concentration in blood and urine than in the control group. The amounts of mercury detected by the tests were trivial [6]. Some studies have shown that the problems patients attribute to amalgam restorations are psychosomatic in nature and have been exacerbated greatly by information from the media or from a dentist [7-11]

An extensive review published in 1993 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that "there is scant evidence that the health of the vast majority of people with amalgam is compromised or that removing fillings has a beneficial effect on health." [12] In January 1998, the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs issued a report on dental amalgam safety, with emphasis on studies that had been published since the 1993 review. The report concluded:

Millions of people have amalgam restorations in their mouths, and millions more will receive amalgam for restoring their carious [decayed] teeth. Over the years, amalgam has been used for dental restorations without evidence of major health problems. Newly developed techniques have demonstrated that minute levels of mercury are released from amalgam restorations, but no health consequences from exposure to such low levels of mercury released from amalgam restorations have been demonstrated. Given the available scientific information and considering the demonstrated benefits of dental amalgams, unless new scientific research dictates otherwise, there currently appears to be no justification for discontinuing the use of dental amalgam.​

 

[AVC]

That is the standard line of reasoning coming from the industry that is liable for health damages running into the Billions and what I meant in my prior posts about the fight going on in the dental industry itself.

I know from personal experience that they are liars, mercury fillings were responsible for migraine headaches and ringing in my ears, once the fillings were removed both problems ceased.

Mercury is highly toxic and is a hazardous material in tiny amounts and the dental industry is still using it and defending themselves legally with these statements.

The doctor that took my fillings out ran a mercury vapor test on me and said I had the highest level of mercury contamination of any patient he ever had in his office.

These fillings are responsible for much of the TMD and TMJ problems people suffer and can lead to other mental related illnesses.

It is not a scam that one faction of the dental industry fights the other on the mercury filling issue, there are dentists that truly believe this is a major crisis and although there are cases of con men taking advantage, this does not discount the science that proves why a large percentage of doctors and dentists support banning of this material.