Tooth Enamel/ CPAP Question

[do57672]

Hello

I just had my 2 year CPAP anniversary. Every thing has been going smoothly & I have gotten so used to the mask I have a hard time sleeping without it. My wife & I have a 7 1/2 month old beautiful little girl now too. Just thought I would throw in a quick little update.
Anyway, I went to a dental check up today & the doctor mentioned my two front upper teeth (and a lesser extent a few others) are very thin and almost are looking clear. The enamel/ dentin is wearing off. I have noticed it before but hoped I was seeing things. I don't eat really acidic foods or drink too much soda so we figured that it must be GERD (stomach acid). I take omeprozol to help with acid and have for years. I'm sure that's the problem but the thinning did kind of start around the time I started CPAP and I was just wondering if they could be linked? My sleep study didn't mention anything about teeth grinding.
I'm 29 and the tips of my front two teeth are looking see through now so in few years I will have invisible teeth. lol Nah, but seriously I have been using pronamel toothpaste and fluoride mouthwash to help.
I don't see how blowing air could wear down teeth but thought I'd ask the pros to get others thoughts. I've read a bunch of stuff about teeth moving due to CPAP.
Thanks in advance.
Derek

[Kitatonic]

Double congrats on your new baby and your second anniversary. My opinion is that the teeth thinning is just due to the chronic acid reflux plus aging. The reflux should improve with continued PAP usage. Even without reflux, our teeth tend to thin with age, which my hygienist estimates that 98% of the movie stars have veneers. Does your full-face mask hit on those front teeth? I don't know why this would thin the enamel. Do you have morning sore teeth or jaw? Lots of us grind, and never know it, but usually they can detect this with chipping or the back teeth are worn down. Ask your dentist if a night guard would protect your teeth.

[BlackSpinner]

If you are mouth breathing (you have a full face mask) then that can be the problem. Drier mouth means more bacteria, add to that your GERD issues and that could cause a lot of damage. If you were majorly mouth breathing before you got your cpap as I was then a lot of damage could have been done before you got your cpap too.

[ironhands]

I've been using mine almost a week now. As I posted earlier, MY TEETH ARE KILLING ME!!!!

I'm clenching pretty hard, and probably grinding, and it's all on the upper fronts as well.

As most have said, the CPAP can often cause some dryness in the mouth, leading to faster decay. Quite unfortunate if you're a mouth breather. I'm just using a nasal, and I find the tooth pain is much higher when using the nasal.

Woke up with water all over my nose this morning, was very strange.

[icipher]

I use a full face mask and have been on treatment since september.

I would recommend using an enamel restoring mouth wash, such as ACT http://www.actoralcare.com/products/act ... lash-mint/

I use this after i have brushed my teach for the night before bed. It will help re-mineralize your teeth.

[Janknitz]

You need to get your GERD under control. If it's not better after 2 years on CPAP it's time to get serious about that. If the acid is doing that to the hard enamel of your teeth, think about what it's doing to the lining of your esophagus!

Unfortunately, most medical doctors throw Omeperazole at you and call it good--until you develop Barrett's esophagus or cancer.

Time to take some action if you want to be around to enjoy that little one. Find a good integrative medical doctor, functional medicine doctor, or naturopathic MD that has a clue about diet and treatment that works. Start with the understanding that the problem isn't too much stomach acid, it's too little, so suppressing stomach acid with ppi's may be doing long term harm (don't quit without supervision because you need an integrative approach to protect you GI system). You need a doctor who has a good understanding of diet (it's not caused by acidic foods, but is caused by lack of good gut flora because of poor diet) and treatments that will support good function from "stem to stern". Any do for who doesn't explain to you that sugar and grains in your diet are the primary causes doesn't know what he/she is talking about--and that includes almost every GI specialist.

Doing CPAP was a great first step, but now you must take care of GERD. PLEASE do this for your little one.

[chunkyfrog]

Sometimes we overlook little things like supplements and "healthy" habits that might not be so much as we think.
(I had a co-worker who distills all the water she consumes.)
Low mineral content in bones and teeth could be related to the practice.
I would avoid drinking distilled water, but that is just me--I'm partial to natural things.
With all the controversy, one thing stands out:
There's a lot of money made on distillers. You decide.

[do57672]

Thanks for the replies. To answer a few things. I do mouth breath and I have noticed that my mouth is really dry in the morning. I guess I should play around with the humidity settings to see if that helps. I see what your saying about bacteria and that it can accelerate tooth erosion. It hasn't really been bothering me so I just left the humidity setting at 80 and left it there for 2 years.
I've been using pronamel toothpaste and ACT mouthwash to help with the teeth but until talking to my dentist I never really thought they were connected to the GERD.
The combination of the teeth problem and after reading some discouraging things about taking omeprozol (or other ppi's) for the long periods of time has convinced to go ahead and get to the bottom of the GERD issue. I called today & made an appointment with a GI doctor today. I go next Friday for my first visit. I'm looking forward to what he/she has to say.

Also, just because, here is a photo of our little girl back before Christmas.

[Janknitz]

What a cutie!

Unfortunately, you'll probably get more of the same (PPIs) from a gastroenterologist. You may get antibiotics if you test for H pylori. (He/she probably won't tell you to take probiotics to protect the good gut flora while taking antibiotics, but you should). And he will tell you to stay away from chocolate, wine, and spicy foods. I don't know about you but these are not GERD triggers for me, but water is!

GREAT article here that's worth a read http://chriskresser.com/get-rid-of-hear ... mple-steps. Be sure to read the previous installments too. And don't be surprised if the gastro tells you this is all wrong. If you trust the gastro, give his/her treatment a try, but remember there's a different approach as an option if it doesn't help.

The gastro will tell you to lose weight but be very afraid if you are told to avoid natural fats in favor of "healthy whole grains" to do it because that's a cognitive disconnect with what really exacerbates GERD symptoms.

[StuUnderPressure]

He/she probably won't tell you to take probiotics to protect the good gut flora while taking antibiotics, but you should.

Won't the antibiotics kill the good along with the bad?

[BlackSpinner]

He/she probably won't tell you to take probiotics to protect the good gut flora while taking antibiotics, but you should.

Won't the antibiotics kill the good along with the bad?

Yes and that is why you take extra - to help your body along while you take the antibiotics. Once you finish the course, take more probiotics to get back a healthy digestive tract.

http://www.wbur.org/npr/244526773/gut-b ... -our-minds

[do57672]

Thanks Janknitz. Thats an interesting read. I've only read the one one you linked to but when I get a chance I'll check the others out. I hope this doctor isn't just a waist of time and money because I've got a high deductible plan this year vs. the past few years when I paid my $40 copay & went on. I'm going to go ahead & see the doctor because I'm also having trouble with food getting caught in my throat when I'm off the omeprozol for a few days. I'm hoping they can link and hopefully fix that when we figure out the reflux issue. And hopefully that will help with the tooth enamel thing too. I'll update after Friday.....But I'm sure the only thing that will happen Friday is paperwork and set up for an evaluation, lol, and spending more money. Luckily my company gave us initial deposit in a HSA because the switch to the high deductible plan.
Thanks again

[Janknitz]

I'm glad you're getting it checked out.

[do57672]

Sorry for the late response here... I went to the GI doctor a few weeks ago & he recommended an upper endoscopy with a dilation to help with the swallowing issue. I haven't went for that yet because I'm waiting to figure out about how much I'm going to be responsible for after insurance. Anyway in the mean time because I can't help but think this issue with my teeth has gotten worse since I've been using the ffm I have decided to try & switch to nasal pillows. I was due for a new mask so I got the swift fx. Maybe the full face mask doesn't have any thing to do with the enamel wear but I figure it won't hurt anything to try to switch. Tonight should be interesting...I've pretty much always been a mouth breather. I've used a nasal mask a few times when I first started CPAP but had to stop because of mouth leak.
Thanks

[Too tall]

You need to get your GERD under control. If it's not better after 2 years on CPAP it's time to get serious about that. If the acid is doing that to the hard enamel of your teeth, think about what it's doing to the lining of your esophagus!

Unfortunately, most medical doctors throw Omeperazole at you and call it good--until you develop Barrett's esophagus or cancer.

Time to take some action if you want to be around to enjoy that little one. Find a good integrative medical doctor, functional medicine doctor, or naturopathic MD that has a clue about diet and treatment that works. Start with the understanding that the problem isn't too much stomach acid, it's too little, so suppressing stomach acid with ppi's may be doing long term harm (don't quit without supervision because you need an integrative approach to protect you GI system). You need a doctor who has a good understanding of diet (it's not caused by acidic foods, but is caused by lack of good gut flora because of poor diet) and treatments that will support good function from "stem to stern". Any do for who doesn't explain to you that sugar and grains in your diet are the primary causes doesn't know what he/she is talking about--and that includes almost every GI specialist.

Doing CPAP was a great first step, but now you must take care of GERD. PLEASE do this for your little one.

Are you a doctor? How do you know so much? And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. I can tell you have some education on this subject?