ha ha.
Well, when I was a kid, we had well water and it wasn't fluorinated so my teeth did collect more cavities than the average kid. And I probably skipped my fair share of good brushings.

So, I'll just start using this to threaten my kids to brush well. "you'll get RA like MOM if you don't brush well!"

Kimberly,

Since no one is really sure what triggers this disease yet, I wouldn't be surprised if, in some people, a bacteria caused RA to kick into gear.

But, I'm having difficulties accepting that gum disease is the trigger.

Although, I freely admit that I have been wrong before!!!!

Take care,
TheWino

Consider the source. Remember all those jokes about dental hygiene in Great Britain?

I think that no matter what you do RA can come to you. I do think stress can assist to bring on the disease if underlying in the first place. I just went to my periodontist today. I have had gum disease and have been placed on a rigid cleaning schedule alternating with regular dental cleaning. With that schedule and regular fastidious brushing I have kept cavities and gum issues at bay. I also have weak enamelled teeth and I am probably in the Bcatz category as a child, so I have to keep on top of my teeth like every other body part. Thanks for the article.

I too had unflouridated water growing up. I started getting cavities at 3yrs old. Have had every dental procedure in existence thrice. Had more dental abscesses and root canals than I can count. I also have Sjogrens. Still don't know if primary or secondary to RA. Too many dentists don't even know what it is. Yes I was obsessed with taking care of my teeth. Nothing helped. And yes my family is of English descent. Sorry had to throw that out there lol.

Last June I had a full dental restoration with implants. My bone was good my teeth were just crap. It was either that or get dentures at 41. And I wasn't ready to accept that. So off to Costa Rica I went and had great work done by an American trained dentist that cost about 15% of what they wanted to charge me in the US. Seriously who has $100k just sitting around?!

I knew I hurt but had no idea how bad the infection really was. My teegh were so ugly & broken I hadn't smiled or laughed without covering my mouth for 10yrs. Much less eat food like a grown up. Pathetic actually. Even 9mo later I have to make an effort to show my teeth when I smile. Which are perfect by the way! Best decision I ever made.

Once the work was done & the infection was gone, I could definitely feel the difference in my body. My joints didn't ache as much and I just felt an overall sense of well being & increased energy I hadn't felt in forever. It lasted about 6mo before the RA train ran me over again. But getting rid of the infection coarsing thru my body made a difference, even if short lived.

I'm not convinced there's a link with RA onset but I do think it exacerbated my symptoms in a big way that I didn't realize at the time. Too bad it wasn't the magic cure.

Very interesting Emerald, thank you for sharing that information. Geez $100,000 that is a lot. And most dental insurances don't cover a lot when it has o do with dental work anyway.

This is a tough subject for me. Like Emerald, I also have a full mouth of implants, but my teeth were just fine. As a kid I did not have many cavities. My jaw was too small to support all the big teeth that were coming in, so when I was twelve, several were removed. Then I had braces until I was almost eighteen. At twenty-six I was Dx with periodontal disease. I had my teeth cleaned every three months, saw periodontists, used every water pic and mechanical toothbrush on the market, lots of anti-biotics. My teeth dropped out one at a time (well, really my dentist took then out right before they went). Almost every tooth that came out looked perfect, nice big root, pretty enamel. I had bone erosion in my jaw, causing the teeth to go. Then there were all those bridges, and when there were not enough teeth to hang a bridge on, I started getting implants. Seven or eight years after my last tooth went, I was Dx with RA. I believe my immune system was up to no good long before RA. I am so happy with my implants, three cleanings a year, a couple visits to the doc that put them in every years and an occasional bone graft to hold them in. No steroids for this girl.

my dad had a full dental implant restoration in Brazil, same reason, price. my father paid about 10 percent of the US cost. dental school loans must be something else to pay off here in the US or greed or just the cost or running a practice...kind of sad

average implant in United states with extraction if needed, Crown, and bone graft if you need it, one tooth: around $4,-000.

my implant is healing right now. I had to sell one of the kids used cars that is in college far far away and does not need the car any longer to get the implant.

on the subject of fluoridation, my podunk country town thinks fluordation is a communist issue or something. they are proud of being one of the handful of communities in the US to hold out against the intrinsic evils of fluoride. Thus having babies here you have to self flouridate to the babies children growing up.

i never could calibrate it right and both of my kids have mottled teeth from too much fluoride. they can not be whitened over. permanent.

it's nice if the community you are in can have a modern water system and it is fluoridated. one less thing to worry about.

Ros

The US also wanted 18-24mo to do the work for $100k. Costa Rica did it in 3 days for $13500 and that included an anesthesiologist for all 3days. I did stay an extra week for antibiotics & monitoring at their on site recovery center w/24hr care. The CR dentist even trained with my Atlanta dentist. Something is seriously wrong with our system.

Lynne, my mother's case is the same as yours. I got the bad enamel she got the bad bone/periodontal disease. She could eat a banana and lose a tooth. She has full implants too.

She doesn't have RA though. Im the sole lottery winner in my family of that prize.

My dentist was great. He gave me a "regular customer" discount. Just a couple at a time over many years. I never even knew about getting this done somewhere else! Thanks for the info!

well at 32 teeth at $4,000 each or 128K I am very happy that your dentist considered you a regular customer dear Lynne and gave you the frequent flier miles :)

but Emerald's price makes sense at about 15 percent of cost out of country.

i am happy for you both.

here I was pissing and moaning about paying for ONE tooth (front facing, no escape had to be done)

Ros

Emerald, thank you for letting me know about your Mom. I had never heard of anyone else that had their teeth fall out because of jaw bone loss. I remember the last periodontist I saw, she looked at my x-rays and just started yelling at me, as though I had done something wrong. I guess she couldn't help. I told my dentist to not send me to any more periodontists.
Ros, lucky for me, I don't have room for 32 teeth. Both my dentists worked very closely together (they would go to lunch and talk about my teeth) and worked out a strategy for replacing teeth as I needed then. I have bridges over areas with the most bone loss, 'cause you need some bone to put in an implant. I don't remember exactly how many implants I have, but I am sure it not anywhere near 32. You are so funny, please keep me laughing,
Lynne