white teeth

[anonymous]

Hi all.
I know that many of us have a hard time with our teeth and keeping them white and healthy. Well I just wanted to pass along that I went to the dentist to get whitening done (I tried Crest White Strips and even white strips from my dentist- a professional grade product) and they didn't work so well.
So I had the impressions done and I have the trays that you put the whitening fluid in and then you wear them for 1/2 hour twice a day. It's really working and it is only day 3 for me.
I just wanted you to know this in case you wanted to try if perhaps your teeth bother you. It's $300 but it will last a long time and they give you enough that you can touch it up every year or so. My teeth are not sensitive to this (as they were to the strips) and I've had no bad side effects other than my tounge is sensitive to spices but that will go away when I am done with this treatment in 3 weeks.
Any way, just thought I'd share.
Kelli

 

[arabeth]

Interesting that I would find this today. Just yesterday I was at the dentist with my 6 year old daughter with CF because of her teeth being discolored. She just recently got her permanent front teeth and one of them has a big solid white (much whiter then the rest of the tooth) spot on it. She is very sensitive about it and says people at school make fun of her and tell her she has something on her tooth. Her teeth in general are good, it's just that spot. Is this common? The dentist really had no explanation. Just said it may be from medications she has been on and that it would probably diminish as she gets older but would likely always be there to some degree. I was disappointed that he didn't really have any better answer for us. Do CFer's typically have more trouble with their teeth? I'm concerned as to whether more of her permanent teeth will come in the same way. Thanks much!

 

[anonymous]

In the mornings I have a white spot on one of my front teeth as well. It doesnt go away when i brush it but usually when i eat and drink it goes away but its always there every mornig. Maybe its from breathing with her mouth open when she sleeps, I dunno though, I just know that I do that!

Shamrock, x

 

[anonymous]

Renee, when your daughter was younger, or even recently did she have any fevers. High fevers, or constant low grade fevers can cause white spots on teeth. As can some antibiotics. I know that isn't really helpful because I can't remember what antibiotics they are but it could be an investigation point. I started bleaching my teeth (by a dentist) when I was about 11 or so, so if is that big of a thing for her, maybe that could be a consideration.

Julie (wife to Mark 24 w/CF)

 

[JazzysMom]

My understanding was that if your teeth are discolored from antibiotics such as mine were from Tetracyclin that the whitining doesnt work. I have never tried because I didnt want to waste the money if this is so. Are your teeth yellow from aerosols etc or actually discolored from antibiotics?

 

[Princess76]

My teeth always had a yellowish tint to them. I tried Crest White Strips and they worked wonders for me. I've been using them for over 2 yrs now. (every now and then, not consistantly for 2yrs) My teeth look bigger and very white. I get allot of comments on my smile where as before I was embarassed to even smile! Everything works different for different ppl, like our meds for example ...just saying they worked GREAT for me!

 

[anonymous]

I, too have had a white spot on one of my front teeth & it's been there since I was little. One dentist told me it was a "calcium deposit" and basically, he said there wasn't anything I could do about it. It's been many years since I even asked about it, so possibly there are things the dentist can do about it now days that weren't available then.

 

[anonymous]

Jazzy's mom, are you talking about a yellow discoloring or a white discoloring? That would make a difference as to whether whitening would work or not.

My post to renee was because she indicated her daughter has white spots on her teeth. Therefore, she could use the whitening to make the shade of the rest of her teeth the same as the white spot. As for the whitening working to make the "yellow" discoloring lighter, I am honestly not sure.

But, I did work for a dentist and I can give you a way around this. The TRAYS are what cost hundreds of dollars so here's what I do (after I worked at the denitst and mine both got eaten by the doggy): The grocery store carries those "do it yourself" molding trays that you melt in hot water. They are not bad at all (rembrant or crest WITH the trays). The the whitening you purchase from the dentist only costs $20-50 (depending on where you live). The second way to do it is telling the dentist you grind your teeth and getting mouth trays for the nighttime, if your dentist is generous enough to make you two of them-you can use them as bleach trays. And most insurance companies pay for those nighttime grinding trays. Just some ideas, it's not the trays that make the difference-it's the dental product (I've tried over the counter, very much not impressed) althought they are the MOST expensive part. If your dentist gives you problems about buying the whitening paste outright-tell them you have trays from a previous source or something- but I have never seen anybody have an issue.

Julie (wife to Mark 24 w/CF)

 

[blindhearted]

I might talk to my doctor about trying that kelli. I am doing crest white strips now and they are killing me. I will wake up in the middle of the night with my teeth hurting, I had to stop. I cant do them long enough to get the right results. They start working, then start hurting. I'm having to do the strips for some up coming dental work. Three of my front teeth have a bonding on them. They are my real teeth, just have bonding to protect and smooth them since meds (enzymes, vit e, etc) ate away at the enammel. I have noticed that my teeth get a little darker when I take antibiotics or my tobi. Anyone else see anything like that with antibiotics or tobi?

 

[anonymous]

Danyell, the dentist I use to work for gave fluoride (the one similar to toothpaste in consistency) to put in the bleach trays everyday for 1/2 hour when I was doing my teeth whitening, because my teeth were VERY sensitive as well. I also used it a few days before and a few days afterward just to keep the sensitivity to a minimum. With the bleach trays you get from a dentist, you only need to wear them for an hour or so as opposed to overnight (which means much more sensitivity). Just some suggestions, hope all the dental work comes out great.

Julie

 

[arabeth]

Evening everyone, or I guess it's morning now. It's interesting to read all these responses. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in dealing with this, or should I say my daughter isn't alone. My older daughter with CF (10) doesn't have any teeth issues and she is the one who has been on the most meds. My 6 year old has never had a lung infection so she really hasn't been on lots of meds (comparatively speaking). She has major sinus issues so she's been on antibiotics lots of times for that but it's usually only amoxil or something fairly mild. She has been on TOBI also because of culturing pseudomonias a couple of times. I can't think of anything that would have caused the tooth problem. She does breathing treatments with Albuterol, Intal and Mucomyst but I have never heard of any of those causing those kinds of problems. I guess it could be anything. I just wish it wasn't her front tooth that has the big white spot on it. And I hope none of her other teeth come in that way. She is a very sensitive child so this just complicates things for her. I'm hoping the spot with gradually fade like the dentist said. If not, we can always try the whitening options. I used the Crest white strips myself for a while and they did seem to work pretty well but my teeth hurt like crazy when I used them.

 

[kybert]

i guess now would be a good time to mention flourisis as a possible cause of white blotches.
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i have heaps of spots on my teeth. probably caused by a number of things. i use to use tonnes of cheapo high flouride toothpaste when i was little. the more foam the better <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif" border="0"> ive had braces twice and they can make blotchy stains. and god knows what else is playing a part in the spots. either way, ive had the dentist bleach kit before. it worked well but my teeth have moved so much that i couldnt wear the trays anymore. hows that, 2 sets of braces and my teeth still wont stay put.

 

[JazzysMom]

The part I am referring to is not yellowing. Its almost a grayish tint to it like the inside of the tooth isnt there & just the outside exists leaving an odd "shade" to it. I do have yellow plaque build up if I dont stay on top of it as well as "spots", but my overall problem is the lack of "whiteness" that exists in general. Its like its not there at all instead of being hidden which whitening can do. Tetracyclin was greatly known for this problem. Is there anyone out there that used this antiobiotic years ago that might know what I am talking about?
TO arabeth: I see that you use Mucomyst. My doctors used it for years, but stopped it with most if not all patients because their discovery was it caused hemoptysis. We used it for years while in the hospital. Its amazing how different areas/doctors use different meds.

 

[Emeraldmirror]

I have a little problem with tinted teeth.. they are a little yellow... but my boyfriend without cf has giant sploches of white on his teeth, they do not go away from bleaching, they are just calcium deposits... some people get them and some people don't... I haven't tried any whitening products but i want too.. i know my teeth arn't that yellow.. but still we all want to look good.... or better... whatever


Ashley 21 w/cf

 

[arabeth]

Yeah, it is odd how different drs treating the same disease can think so differently. We were at the Minneapolis clinic for years and that's where they put the girls on Mucomyst. They don't particularly like Pulmozyme there, they love Mucomyst. Now we have recently moved to Texas and the dr wants to take them off Mucomyst and put them on Pulmozyme (my 10 year old is actually on both but my 6 year old has never used Pulmozyme). I won't let them change the meds yet though. What they have been using is working well as the girls are very healthy so I see no need to start changing everything.

 

[abloedel]

My baby teeth were white as can be, put my permenant teeth had white spots all over them. As I aged, the white spots turned to brown spots. It got to the point where I wouldn't even smile. I ultimately had porcelain veneers put on all of my front teeth and I have a sparkling white smile

I have noticed in the last year that my molars are falling apart which I'm sure is due to the years of vitamin deficientcy/malabsorption.

Having "white" teeth really opened doors for me because I felt much more confident in myself, so I would encourage all of you parents of children with CF to do what you can to help your kids maintain a "perfect" smile.

Amy 36 w/CF

 

[ladybug]

sorry to bump such an old post, but i just came across it. i actually have been noticing that "acid erosion" that seems to be weakening my enamel (never realized i had a problem really until a commercial came on saying i did.. ha ha) and was always curious if that was caused in some way by meds, etc. from CF or if its just from too much coffee.

with regard to the whitening... i actually have the white spots on my teeth too, but they seem to come and go. they are absolutely horrible when i whiten my teeth (weird, huh?!) its almost as though the bleach in the kit brightens and brings out the white spots. so, i know every time i bleach, even though i may be getting a whiter smile, i'm also going to get brighter white calcium deposits (or whatever they are). i also notice it more after teeth cleanings, but its not near as noticable as when i whiten my teeth. odd.

sorry to resurrect this old post, but with the acid erosion on my teeth (almost see-through at spots on my bottom teeth), i wanted to post in an appropriate forum and this seemed it. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

sorry to bump such an old post, but i just came across it. i actually have been noticing that "acid erosion" that seems to be weakening my enamel (never realized i had a problem really until a commercial came on saying i did.. ha ha) and was always curious if that was caused in some way by meds, etc. from CF or if its just from too much coffee.

with regard to the whitening... i actually have the white spots on my teeth too, but they seem to come and go. they are absolutely horrible when i whiten my teeth (weird, huh?!) its almost as though the bleach in the kit brightens and brings out the white spots. so, i know every time i bleach, even though i may be getting a whiter smile, i'm also going to get brighter white calcium deposits (or whatever they are). i also notice it more after teeth cleanings, but its not near as noticable as when i whiten my teeth. odd.

sorry to resurrect this old post, but with the acid erosion on my teeth (almost see-through at spots on my bottom teeth), i wanted to post in an appropriate forum and this seemed it. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

sorry to bump such an old post, but i just came across it. i actually have been noticing that "acid erosion" that seems to be weakening my enamel (never realized i had a problem really until a commercial came on saying i did.. ha ha) and was always curious if that was caused in some way by meds, etc. from CF or if its just from too much coffee.

with regard to the whitening... i actually have the white spots on my teeth too, but they seem to come and go. they are absolutely horrible when i whiten my teeth (weird, huh?!) its almost as though the bleach in the kit brightens and brings out the white spots. so, i know every time i bleach, even though i may be getting a whiter smile, i'm also going to get brighter white calcium deposits (or whatever they are). i also notice it more after teeth cleanings, but its not near as noticable as when i whiten my teeth. odd.

sorry to resurrect this old post, but with the acid erosion on my teeth (almost see-through at spots on my bottom teeth), i wanted to post in an appropriate forum and this seemed it. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">

 

[ladybug]

sorry to bump such an old post, but i just came across it. i actually have been noticing that "acid erosion" that seems to be weakening my enamel (never realized i had a problem really until a commercial came on saying i did.. ha ha) and was always curious if that was caused in some way by meds, etc. from CF or if its just from too much coffee.

with regard to the whitening... i actually have the white spots on my teeth too, but they seem to come and go. they are absolutely horrible when i whiten my teeth (weird, huh?!) its almost as though the bleach in the kit brightens and brings out the white spots. so, i know every time i bleach, even though i may be getting a whiter smile, i'm also going to get brighter white calcium deposits (or whatever they are). i also notice it more after teeth cleanings, but its not near as noticable as when i whiten my teeth. odd.

sorry to resurrect this old post, but with the acid erosion on my teeth (almost see-through at spots on my bottom teeth), i wanted to post in an appropriate forum and this seemed it. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">