I am 46 years old now and had major problems with my teeth in my 30's, 2 different scallings of the gums in a 4 year period tons of cavities and at the time I was a smoker. at 44 I woke up and my gums were so badly infected that they had to be pulled and a year later I was digan>>>with Ra these two go together but professionals might argure the difference by the way It has been 4 years I do not miss my teeth I suffered with them. I Have beautiful pearly whites now

Hi Lynda, I had beautiful white teeth with very few problems and cavities until I was in my late 30s, early 40s. I also had good dental hygiene. Then my teeth started crumbling and I gradually lost all of them over a span of 5 years and had full dentures at the age of 53. About 15 years ago I was diagnosed with Sjogrens. I was actually glad to know that there was a reason that my teeth were falling out despite regular brushing with flouride toothpaste and flossing. It was the lack of saliva causing the problem. Is your mouth dry? One more thing, Sjogrens was actually diagnosed by an ENT doctor when I went in with sores in my mouth so bad that I could not eat....it was not diagnosed by my dentist. Since then I've learned to ask my doctors about their knowledge and expertise with autoimmune disorders. And like Girlfeia, I do not miss my teeth at all! The dentures are beautiful, they look natural and most of all they don't hurt :-)

RA is a message from your body saying it is not happy with the way things are going with diet, life style and toxicity. Your RA is an autoimmune disease; these diseases are interesting and scary there are approximately 80 to 100 with another 40 waiting for a name. Medical science cannot explain why and has not found a cure for even one. You can trigger one of them just by having an auto accident, taking aspirin, medication or by starting a new exercise routine, even too much stress says latest research. Naturopathic medicine says, "Look for the root, it is in the basics beginning with what is on your fork, what toxins are in your body, what exercise do you do, what stress is in your life, what is your spiritual base". Scientific arrogance has led us down the wrong path we better stop and take a close look at what is happening. This month 150 new chemicals which are part of the autoimmune problem will be added too industry with no oversight control at all. Autoimmune disease is the worst kind of contradiction; for an RA sufferer you are attacking your joints with your immune system, a world upside down. God bless you in your search.

Sincerely
Paul

Ps Here is a challenge, on a piece of paper write down as many diseases as you can think of then put them as a search on Google one at a time and add the word epidemic you will see that almost all of them are. Is anyone in modern medicine awake?

Firstly, I would like to commend you all for getting your message out. I am currently a first year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine. Thankfully, I do not suffer from Arthritis. Though I have come to appreciate it as one of the most important health issues in our country. The entirety of my exposure to the alarming issues concerning Juvenile Rheumetoid Arthritis (in particular) has not been from classroom, rather from a dear friend who has suffered from JA since infancy. Herein lies the most fundamental problem that the medical community must be urged to change. Currently, medical schools teach their students how to "fix" a problem once it has already occurred, when, in fact many of the most devastating health outcomes could be either completely avoided or be of diminished severity had the medical and dental communities focused more on educating their students the value of PROMOTING HEALTH and preventing disease. It ought to be the charge of the physician as well to be knowledgeable of the oral hygiene promotion in ALL populations!

Lynda, your struggles truly underscore the essence of need for increased understanding of the oral-systemic linkage. Though I have not had the opportunity to see the data regarding oral health and Arthritis; I have become aware of the piles and piles of data showing that oral health is directly linked to systemic illnesses like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and preterm birth.

This is an issue that was brought to the forefront back in 2000 when, then Surgeon General, David Satcher released the "Surgeons General's Report on Oral Health."

Though I wish I had some advice as to what you might be able to do to alleviate your dental troubles, I would like to thank you for sharing your story as it gives me a further appreciated for the important linkage between oral and systemic medicine. As former Surgeon General C. Everet Koop said, "There is no such thing as good health without oral health."

Lastly, as a medical student I have taken a strong interest in this topic. I can tell you that there are periodontists out there who truly understand this problem and are pioneers in this field. Please google Dr. D. Walter Cohen, DDS (Chancelor Emeritus Of Drexel University College of Medicine) and Dr. Allen Finkelstein, DDS.

Lynda, thanks for sharing your story and inspiring a medical student like myself. I would ask you to email me and keep me posted on your periodontal issues. I think it is urgent that future physicians begin to learn about this problem.

Sam Zarbiv
saz34@drexel.edu

Fluoride linked to Arthritis



A 52-year-old American man's arthritic-like joint pain and immobility went away after he stopped brushing his teeth with fluoridated toothpaste, according to astudy in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research(1).



There's no scientific dispute that large fluoride doses cause crippling skeletal fluorosis over time.
But, "less well-known causes of chronic fluoride toxicity include fluoride supplements, certain teas and wine and some toothpastes," report researchers Kurland, et al.(1)



Skeletal fluorosis often results in abnormal bone hardening and thickening (osteosclerosis) with painful and impaired neck and spine mobility, spine curvature, and/or painful lower extremities ultimately causing crippling and incapacitation, report the researchers.



"Fluoride at any level accumulates in the body," says Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. "So even water fluoridation will cause arthritic-like symptoms in susceptible individuals which is compounded by U.S. physicians'and dentists' lack of training to diagnose fluoride toxicity."



See http://tinyurl.com/Susheela (A doctor from India explains why US physicians fail to properly diagnose skeletal fluorosis )



In this case, the only obvious fluoride exposure was toothpaste. The patient drank no fluoridated water, tea or wine; had no occupational fluoride exposure; did not chew tobacco, inhale snuff, cook with Teflon pots, use fluoridated mouthwash or get fluoride treatments at twice-yearly dentist visits. But he brushed before and after all meals (minimum 6 times daily) with fluoridated toothpaste.



Fluoride was elevated in his serum, urine and iliac crest (bone), the researchers report.



Within 8 months of eliminating all obvious fluoride sources, the patient's urinary and blood fluoride levels dropped and bone function markers showed clear cut improvement, the researchers report.



"By approximately two years after diagnosis and apparent elimination of excess fluoride exposure, the patient had complete resolution of his neck immobility and no longer required analgesics," the researchers write.



Roos, et al. documents a woman whose painful swollen fingers healed after she ceased eating fluoridated toothpaste.(2)



Whyte, et al. report a woman's fluoride-caused debilitating joint pains disappeared when her two-gallon-a-day iced tea habit stopped.(3)



Eichmiller, et al. report a patient's leg and joint pains from a dentist-prescribed high-concentration fluoride product.(4)



Arthritis is linked to water fluoride in a Turkish study.(6)



More about skeletal fluorosis:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/s-fluorosis.htm



and arthritis
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/bone/fluorosis/arthritis/



References:



1) Recovery From Skeletal Fluorosis (An Enigmatic, American Case).
Journal of Bone Mineral Research. October 2, 2006, by Kurland, et al.



(2) Osteofluorosis caused by excess use of toothpaste, Presse Med,
34:1518-20, by Roos et al November 2005



(3) Environ Health Perspect. 2005 August; 113(8): "Food Safety: A
Tea-Time Mystery," by Michael Szpir



http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1280381



(4) Journal of the American Dental Association, "Controlling the
fluoride dosage in a patient with compromised salivary function,"
Frederick C. Eichmiller, D.D.S.; Naomi Eidelman, Ph.D.; Clifton M.
Carey, PhD., Vol. 136, page 67 -70, January 2005
http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/136/1/67



NYSCOF News Release: http://tinyurl.com/mbrmd



(5) NYSCOF News release http://tinyurl.com/mbrmd about



U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Office of
Communication, 8/25/05
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r050825.htm

Thank you all for your responses. I have another dentist appointment the first week of June as well as a rheumatologist appt and you have all given me a good amount to research before my appointments.

I will definitely look into the sjogrens disease. I have had mouth sores but attributed them to side effects from the methotrexate. As far as my mouth feeling dry...it feels like normal to me but is that normal to the average person. I certainly do not have excessive saliva.

As far as the flouride induced arthritis...that is very interesting. I can pretty much rule that out as I grew up with unfluoridated well water and also had psoriasis for 10 yrs before developing the arthritis. I have had fluoridated water for 12 yrs now thankfully for my teeth, but this information may be very helpful to others out there.

Sam, your message gives hope for good things to come in the medical field. There are so many things to research...I have wondered for years if they can just find that one link to auto-immune diseases, how many of these diseases could be cured or managed much better with just one discovery? So many seem to be linked together. I also agree that there is not enough research in the dental aspect of it. I try to stay one step ahead of my disease by investigating and taking preventative measures but so little information is out there about any dental aspect.

My rheumatologist is great but it is exactly as you say, he steps in after something has happened to fix it and only addresses issues that could occur when I ask probing questions. I try to have questions lined up in advance to encourage discussion and maybe he brings something up that I had not heard before. Thank you, I will look up Dr.'s Cohen and Finkelstein.

Thanks, guys!

Not only is fluoridated water and toothpaste safe, it is has NEVER been linked to arthritis or any other illness. It is important to look at literature responsibly. None of your above links are even slightly supported by real evidence. the surgeon general's office has been promoting flouridation for many many years. Its dangerous to spread false knowledge.