1. Community
  2. Diabetes and hormone problems
  3. Hypothyroidism

Toothloss and Thyroid Meds? Help please.

Posted , 4 users are following.

PRthyroid
PRthyroid

Hi everyone,

 I recently was switch from Levo to Armour thyroid about a month or so ago and recently, probably going on 2 weeks ago, I've noticed a big sudden change in transparentcy of my two front teeth. I'm not talking about just the edges of my teeth, I'm talking about like it's going up mid-center of my two front teeth, something I never had. I went to my dentist and was thinking it was from grinding my teeth, but after inspecting my grinding movement of my jaw, he says that the front teeth do not touch each other, indicating it's probably not the teeth grinding that is causing it to become that badly transparent. I asked him what else could be the cause and he said it could be from the Radio active iodine treatment I had months ago or from the meds I was taking.

I'm very scared and wondering if it's from the Armour thyroid meds, from the levothyroxine, from just having hypothyroidism itself, or from a serious vitamin D problem. I have heard both Levo and Armour can cause toothloss, tho the reports of Armour causing tooth loss seems very very low.  I really want to stop this right away and cause atleast damage as possible to my teeth. sad Please help.

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • shellyC19
    shellyC19 PRthyroid

    Posted

    Hello Prthyroid:   I am an RN -Nurse and I live in the USA. Your teeth require proper calcium levels (VIT D).  For some unknown reason Thyroid patients have low VIt D levels.  I suffer from Hashimoto's Thyroid disease and  I also had a low D level.  Teeth can sometimes lose the pulp inside the tooth, and as we age, the pulp can turn and the tooth can look gray or clearish.  If you do not take Vit D - start taking it.   I used to take Armour  Thyroid and had no problems from it.  I was on it for years.  It became hard to get it in the USA.   I have never heard of it hurting the teeth.  You can get the dentist to apply a "BONDING" overcoat on it and it will  cover the color change. 

    I would say as an educated guess, you have a low Vit D level.  Many women back in the olden times had tooth loss after pregnancy and they did not have good vitamins then.  Both my grandmothers lost teeth because the baby needs calcium as it grows and will pull it from the teeth if it has to. 

    As we age our bodies stop being able to take Sunlight and diet and make Vit D.  They can test you by a blood draw for that level, so you may tell a GP or Endo doc that about your tooth.  The test is not normally done and takes about a week to do.  It has to be ordered by a doctor.

    Please get the best VIT D tablets you can afford and see if it helps.   I hope I helped you.

    • barbara98940
      barbara98940 shellyC19

      Posted

      I can understand your concern and desire to do something about this as soon as you can. I'd like to add to Shelley's advice, that it's a good idea to get a blood test first before getting vit D supplements so that you know what level you started from. I'm not medically qualified but have read that for calcium to be absorbed by the body one needs calcium, vit D and magnesium levels to be ok. So it's worth having the levels of all three checked. Ask your doctor whether there are any other checks he would advise. Try and get an appointment as soon as possible. Once the blood tests have been taken, start taking vit D, calcium and magnesium. Dolomite tablets come with calcium & magnesium, so if you take these you just need to take vit D as well.
    • shellyC19
      shellyC19 barbara98940

      Posted

      Hello Barbara  & PRThyroid,  I suggest to get the best multivitamin you can afford.  PRThyroid should get a "Mineral Panel" blood work along with Vit D level.  The mineral panel includes, Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium, K level, etc... the Vit D level is another test and it takes about 7 days to do. Since I heard it can take a while in UK to be able to see the doctor there, I suggest PRThyroid start on a good Vit D tablet.  I do not know the brands there, or how long it would take for PRThyroid to see a GP or Endocrinologist in your NHS system. 

      PRthyroid shouls get a blood test first, if able to see GP or Endo, soon.  From what I have been hearing it can take months to see a doctor in the NHS system.  biggrin

    • barbara98940
      barbara98940 shellyC19

      Posted

      Hi Shelley, it's the specialist consultants (e.g. encrinologists) that have waiting lists of a few months. Ordinary doctors (GPs) one can usually be seen that day if it's an 'emergency' (the definition of which at a GP practice is 'needs to be seen that day'. If one wants to see a particular GP the wait can be 2-3 weeks. The times I have quoted are for my area & GP practice, others may be vary.
    • shellyC19
      shellyC19 barbara98940

      Posted

      Hello Barbara, Oh that is not bad if you can be seen the same day or within  a few weeks.  Some people told me a lot longer. In USA we can call GP and get seen quickly also.  I agree all specialists can be a bit of a wait even over here.  I hope PRThyroid will call her GP and get the mineral panel and Vit D level  checked. These tests are fairly easy and a GP can order these.  Thanks for that information on how it works. XO
  • Jill6969
    Jill6969 PRthyroid

    Posted

    Hi can I just add that if you take vit D make sure its D3. The Vitamin D council recommend 4000 units a day as a supplement in the winter. The summer depends on how much exposure you can get to the sun. Now heres an interesting point. We also need vitamin K2 as when D releases the calcium its actually K2 that sends it to our bones instead of places we dont want it. I never take a D3 without a K2
  • PRthyroid
    PRthyroid

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for the comments. I called my Holistic doctor (the one currently in charge of my thyroid and thyroid meds) and after about a weeks wait she said to go ahead and get a blood test done. But she only added for just a vitamin D check and not a whole mineral chart check. So I just going to see if I can get a full Mineral check from my GP. Currently I also increased my sunlight intake and calcium intake from foods to see if it helps, but as I just read I need to see if vitamin K and Magnesium is also low. Thanks again everyone.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.