Oxycontin Damaged My Teeth (Page 25)
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Has anyone else known oxycontin to rot the teeth? I used to be on vicodin until my doctor told me I needed to switch to a morphine based meds. She put me on ms contin but I had problems with it so she put me on 80mg oxycontin. Eventually my body built up a tolerance so she kept raising it, i have am now on from 4-6 per day of the 80mg tabs. It scares me that this is what rotted my teeth because only 5 yrs ago i had only 2 cavities that needed filling and then only 1 yr after going on the oxycontin i had to have all my top front teeth pulled as they where rotting from the inside out the dentist said my mouth looked like a heroin addict's mouth looks. He said it was shocking to him that normally he only saw such damage from someone who abused drugs with so much dental damage, but i have never done any street drugs and have only take my meds as prescribed to me. Now i have lost 80% of my teeth and as a beautiful 41 yr old mother its devastating. I cant afford dentures and sure cant afford implants like i would like to have. I am a single mother and refuse to date because i have lost my teeth now, i had beautiful teeth before i started on the oxycontin and only 2 small cavities that needed filling. Does anyone else have this same problem and if so why hasn't the company making oxycontin warn patients of this possible problem?

If i had known this would cause me to lose most of my teeth i would have never agreed to go on it. Of course my family doctor who has been prescribing them tells me she hasn't heard of any other cases, yet when i researched the med online there where others like this why hasn't something been put in the warnings about this med, i sure would have preferred to have lived in pain the rest of my life rather than lose my teeth and be unable to even eat now. My health has gone downhill fast as i cant even chew foods necessary for good health. All I can eat now are yogurts, and liquid type of foods which isn't much. My kids are 7 and 9 yrs old and they watch me cry when we go out to eat and they order steak, and i can smell it but can't order one as i know i wont be able to chew it. This is so devastating for me. I want teeth so badly if i could wish for anything in life besides not to be poor anymore it would be to have a full set of real teeth or implants but i could never dream of having them, and i don't know anyone out there willing to just help me get any either. I have always helped others all my life, but cant even help myself, i have had to have 29 surgeries now since 1991 when a drunk driver hit my car and caused me major injuries with my lower back and knees, i have had a full lower back fusion and 8 arthroscopic knee surgeries until a year ago they finally had to do a full right knee replacement and now they are talking about doing my left knee soon.

So my life has been up and down with surgeries and i would go thru one more surgery just to have teeth implanted if i could. but i could never afford it, but i would like to know why these drug manufacturers are making a medication that could cause teeth to rot like this without warning us patients or even warning the doctors about it. This is just terrible of them i think, as now i am the one paying for this by having no teeth to eat with at such a young age now. I am a vibrant young 41 yr old at 5'3, 120lbs, slim woman, nice looking too as i was a model in my younger days, so i keep my looks up. But to have no teeth now... I never smile anymore, I am to ashamed to smile even though it wasn't my fault i lost my teeth. I think they should pay for me to have new teeth but no one wants to admit that the med causes it, but my diet wasn't the problem back when i started the medication and i wasn't drinking coca-cola either or doing street drugs so i know that wasn't the cause either. The only thing that changed within one year to cause this was starting the oxycontin medication. Well, if anyone out there can help me let me know thanks.

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Barry.... contact the administrators of this site you can be given authorization to contact me. We are trying to get as many sufferers together so we can do something about it. Christine

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Hey Angela we have a whole lot in common after a disc rupture four years ago I was put on morphine and OxyContin and have about 5 good teeth left. I had a fusion surgery that was successful but I now suffer from chronic pain in my back and legs the reason for the meds. In colorado there is many programs for dental help I have had to research but found some places willing to help look up resources in your area. Please feel free to hit me up to chat.
Single disabled mom
Flora

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If there is anyone I can help in any way about loseing and broken teeth from the pain medicine oxycodone please send it to the Mailman . Christine is working to get all of you together as one by herself because I have had same problem with my teeth but all winter I had just became depressed and didn't do anything except feel sorry for myself and left Christine to do everything by herself and do feel terrible about that ! The one thing I know is if u are starting to have this problem try to talk to your doctor about dry mouth and what steps u can take to not let your mouth get dry ! I have a bottle of water with me all the time ! Even in bed if I wake during the night I drink water so it helps with the dryness ! This is not a medical fix for the problem it is just what I do to try to keep the few teeth I have left ! No doctor told me or anyone in the medical field ! This is only what I do and as far as I know water never hurt anyone . Please ask your doctor how to fight dry mouth and u will be doing what I was never told by the medicine company that makes oxy ! Mail delivered ! Mailman

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I read an article in a doctors office about pain management and oxycontin and the company Purdue Pharmacuticals that manufactured in. Before the drug became available the company was worth around 2.4 million dollars and within 5 yr of the drug being on the market their net worth was 3.1 BILLION dollars. They were sued by familes of addicts or addicts themselves who were prescribed the drug and told it was not addictive. The legal suit claimed the manufacturer sold the drug knowing that it was addictive and basically lied. Purdue settled out of court for something like 600 million which would include all parties in the tort litigation and any future filers. Plus they get to continue selling the medication. The point is that there is money put away already to be paid out to anyone who can prove they became addicted and it affected their life in a negative Way. That was my understanding so maybe that would be something to look up and check out and get your teeth paid for.

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Christine ~

I sent you an email after I finally read the one from the admins here on how to contact you. Please look for it and get back to me.

Rick ~ You have to go back to a previous post and sent a message to the admins before you can get or share email addresses in order to get any info or contribute what you may know.

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Yes it does. I had a back injury on the job in 2010, it is now 2014 and every one of my teeth broke so bad they had to be pulled. They would break while I was eating, even while I slept I would wake up to pieces of teeth in my mouth. I am 32 years old now and don't have a single tooth in my head. I got dentures through an agency called AV Hunters (they payed for my dentures in full), there are other agencies that do the same. You should check into that. I know how it is to walk around with no teeth and be accused of being a drug addict or get dirty looks, also eating was a nightmare. Hope this helps, wish you all the best.

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Please send me the info on teeth rotting from oxycodone chewing

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Please contact me {edited for privacy} so we can all get together and get something done about this. So far, though, just about everyone who's been complaining about this situation HAS NOT contacted me so, to be honest, I'm quite disillusioned about getting anything whatsoever started unless people start contacting me so we can get organized! I hope you're not one of them and, if you're not, I'm very much looking forward to hearing from you!!! Thanks, Michele

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I've been on various pain medications for the past several years. Some did not work at all while others had me staring at the wall all day without even touching the pain. My medication prescribed is a result of long term back problems (since age 16 [1993]) through multiple attempts through various professionals to help manage the pain without medication. Finally in late 2009 I found out that I had serious hip spurs and labral tears bilaterally - had surgery on both in April and the October of 2010 by an ortho surgeon that was not very experienced in performing the procedure I was in need of. Apparently, it was a very specialized surgery and my insurance company just set me up with the first surgeon that said he could do it w/o bothering to inspect his actual credentials. Fast forward, to a year and a half after L hip and a year after R hip surgeries were done and I was in worse pain than before, thus starting me on the medications as well as having me going through numerous IV's that did nothing at all. The surgeon had been prescribing vicodin and a muscle relaxant for a year or more. When I switched to pain management, that's when I was changed over to Oxycontin and Oxycodone. It didn't take very long for me to begin to notice problems with my teeth which, up until then had been just fine - got compliments on my smile constantly. What teeth are left now are all on the verge of disappearing, cracking off, etc. I can actually feel the inside (like the "guts") of many of my teeth. The only ones that haven't appeared to be touched are the three that I have crowns on. There is simply NO other explanation for this aside from the medication. I have been looking for others that are going through this to hopefully form a group and seek at attorney to fight this because I don't want floppy dentures that I have to worry about wiggling around or slipping around. I want teeth like I lost, I want my smile back. It's miserable when I have to either cover my mouth with my hand when I laugh, or avoid laughing/smiling/and sometimes talking all together because of the sheer embarrassment I feel. I am terrified of someone seeing the "stumps" that are remaining in most of the front part of my mouth. I am tired of not being able to eat normal meals because of the pain it causes or the fact that I simply have no way of chewing the food. What also complicates my issue is that I have TMJ, so in addition to the way my mouth hurts constantly, I have problems holding my jaw shut very tightly which completely exhausts my jaw muscles. I just want some normalcy back. I can't fix the TMJ until I have teeth to make the mouthpiece. I'm so frustrated, irritated, pi**ed off, etc. because I can't get anywhere. Dentists don't know how to charge health insurance, nor do oral surgeons. But since TMJ is a health problem, I can get some coverage through my health insurance in addition to using the small yearly allowance through dental insurance. But someone producing these medications needs to be held accountable for the failure to mention this as a potential issue. I'm fairly certain most, if not all of us would have loved to keep our smiles because they help ease the pain just a little on the rare occasions you're able to have one grace your face.

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What kind of insurance do you have and how much of the work to be done will they pay for?

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Yes, i understand your delimna with the rotten teeth. Six yrs. ago i had the most beautiful teeth. Now I'm left with 16 and half of them are broken off at the gum line and the other half are cracked and ready to break off. I always say I look like a "trailer trash crack hoe." Makes me laugh cause I know I'm not. Lol. The good thing is if you have insurance you can have them all pulled and never have to worry about cavities again. :) ♥ I'm getting mine done within the next month. WOOT!! WOOT!

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I injured my back in May of 2009. I have been on painkillers now for five years. I started out on low doses but now take morphine 30mg and hydromorphone 4mg three times a day every day of my life and still I am in pain. I started haveing teeth problems back in 2012 with one cavatie. Then in 2013 I had a crown to break off in half while eating a cheeze it. In January of this year 2014 I had a tooth to completly break in half and this time I was eating a cracker. I never had problems like this before. I actually had very nice teeth but now I fear that I will be like you and my teeth will all be broken and have to be removed. I can't just stop taking my medication. Nobody could live in the kind of pain I have, trust me. I have no choice in the matter at all. I cant afford to get false teeth either. So whats a person to do.

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Christine I have sent them my ok to send you my email address lets get it done so no one else can wind up like us all

TOOTHLESS from post 287

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Glad to see changes so we can all work as one. I have posted early in this and have lost more teeth

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I can relate and wish there was some fantastic response. I am 38, known for my smile and laughter. You could hear me laugh a mile away. I have been taking MS Contin for 4 years, I have an extra vertebrae, which caused a curvature in my spine. End of a 12 hour shift on my feet and went to sleep and woke up in excruciating pain when I tried to move or even breath. They called it "drop foot", but my discs were crap and injections failed. The option was to live in that pain or have a bone graft and put screws and rods to hold me together. Which failed to relieve pain just increased it. I am now permanently disabled. I too had never had a filling in a single front tooth. One day, just had a filling on these teeth 2 weeks prior and the entire 2 bottom front teeth just came out in my hands. Not just broken but rotten inside all the way to the root, leaving deep hole to the root exposed. Medicare doesn't cover a penny and Medicaid wants a 1/3 of my income to help me. My son is just finishing his senior year and is 18. I want for him to have a graduation party but the 4 teeth left on top and the 4 teeth on the bottom, makes me cry. I can hardly leave the house now. Try local health departments, that is who is cleaning out all the broken teeth residue and it is a lot cheaper.

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Yes.... I agree that if we had all known about how detrimental the drug(s) were to our teeth at the time would have been VERY helpful but that's exactly our point and why we are trying to gather as many members as possible to join us in attempting a class action suit against the pharmaceutical company (who makes the Oxycontin/Oxycodone drug/s). THEY KNEW about this but FAILED TO ADEQUATELY WARN US about the side effect that they innocently and haphazardly (almost as an afterthought) mention in their patient information insert (and, frankly, I would even have to check on that because it may not have even been included in their patient document... the one you sometimes get with your Rx but usually don't unless you needed/bought enough to have received it in its original container). It's only been just recently, at the onset of these new products that patients with dry mouth have been given any clue that it's not only been caused by "those medications that cause it" but that their tooth decay may be a direct result. That being said, a few of us are joining forces to try and get them to help us regain our smiles. Don't sit idly by and assume that this kind of work will be done by others. There is power in numbers and in order to get anything whatsoever accomplished you must get involved.

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Hi christine I to have no teeth resulting from m.s. contin same manufactureras oxycontin I want to be involved in a legal case suit.I was interviewed by NBC and blew the whistle wanted the public to be alerted. Please contact me ASAP I have so much info.

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Yes paineds do rot teeth and the biggest way they do is by drying out your mouth and when your mouth is dry the good protecting bacteria that is in saliva is not on one teeth so the bad bacteria can attack your teeth and cause the rotting effect. Now they sell plenty of products to relieve dry mouth but they can get very expensive so a cost effective way is sugarless gum, when you chew sugarless gum you will feel how your mouth combats dry mouth by making the mouth produce more saliva, so get yourself a lot of sugarless gum, brush your teeth many times a day especially after any meal, and drink lots of water and milk. I wish I would have known those things a long time ago.

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ANYONE WHO I HAVE YET TO CONTACT: The administrators at MedsChat have been kind enough to allow ONE POINT OF CONTACT for all of you who have been having to deal with one of Oxycontin's life changing side effects (in our case, anything having to do with tooth decay and/or completely losing your teeth) and I AM THAT POINT OF CONTACT. Follow their instructions to the letter so they will then forward your contact information to me and I will, in turn, contact you. We MUST get together, and work together, if we are to make any changes. Thanks, Christine

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After reading the above story I feel like this is definitely true. It is happened to me also. To get a better understanding here's a little bit of my past. I was in my mid 20s, never smoked a cigarette or marijuana in my life did not drink alcohol or use any type of recreational/illegal drugs. Having prior dental issues myself as a child of the minor side. I have an understanding of what you might be thinking. Here's a brief background. After serving six tours in the Marines I was injured and needed surgery to prevent severe damage to my back. Minor surgery was done but would not stop all the discomfort and pain that I was experiencing at the time. After my recovery time the surgery did not completely eliminate the problems so the doctor place me back on opiates and other treatments. The doctors placed me on opiates started out in moderate doses then increased over time. Major Surgery was the last thing my doctor recommended or needed at that point. The use of opiates and other treatments was my best option at the time. I managed to do well for over 7 years leading an active life. Working full time, coaching sports and still doing some of the things I used to do. But as time went on and my tolerances grew the medications just seem to increase more and more overtime but not getting rid of the pain like it used to. I started noticing my teeth would rot from the gumline up or sometimes inside out. My dentist and medical friends started to tell me about hearing of opiate use causing dental problems. Eventually no pain in my mouth just breaking teeth or rot and fall out. So after almost 9 years of continued use of opiates at my worst I was taking 20 mg oxycodone pills eight a day plus a long-lasting pill. I had had enough and met with a surgeon about getting my back fixed and being very upset about my teeth. I quit opiates immediately it was very hard and did it without any medication to stop. I had just had enough. I don't regret using the opiates because they greatly help me in my time of need. I was afraid of having surgery and going through all those problems having two young boys and the family being so young. The surgery was successful in relieving my pain but, has left me partially paralyzed and very little range of movement. The concerns my doctor, my surgeon and what I and my family had were definitely justified. The use of opiates for that period of time along with other treatments was the best interest that I could've had or did for myself. The only problem that I see now is the fact that I believe opiates made me lose my teeth. I am now completely medicine free in no pain but now unable to do almost all things that I used to do in the past. I will try to check this post from time to time if anybody post anything different going through that myself. I think that I am a valuable asset to help anybody with these problems. My email is {edited for privacy}

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