Oxycontin Damaged My Teeth (Page 28)

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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I too was put on 240mg of oxi twice daily plus up to eight four mg dilaudid daily almost all my teeth have rotten and are broke off into the gum line I cannot afford a dentist do to being on ssd I too have a very hard time eating I am desperate have been resear chi g if there is a way to make the drug company pay no luck yet though but I agree had I known this was a side affect I would of not used it

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To everyone on this site. Each and everyone that comes here has a few things in common, our teeth have rotted from inside out. Then because of a severe injury or a condition that made us have to take the pain medication from hell Oxycodone and OxyContin that is time released pain medication that does help with pain but because of not putting a warning label with the medication that should have said that causes severe dry mouth that will make your teeth rot, break off or fall out and in most cases ruin your social life and has me to the point where I go to the store to get food and pick up medications but other than that I stay home because of how my missing teeth make me feel! Also all the problems of the original injury that you take Meds for witch in my case 8 bad disc in my back! I hate running into anyone I know because of my teeth! Please if you start to have these problems with you teeth keep a bottle water with u all the time until you speak to your doctor and get told what to do to fight this problem! I go no where without my bottle of water! I hope you fix this before it ruins your life! On another subject you will get to know others here and make friends that have the same problem as u and that makes it easier to talk because u are both dealing with same thing! I hit the lottery of friends when I started talking with Christine! I hope to talk to you soon because you helped me get to where I am and I am grateful for your kindness and understanding and always wish you Christine and everyone on this site good health and happiness and that the company that made so much money from selling this medication sees what it did to us and fixes our teeth because it is the right thing to do! The mail is delivered!

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Hi Christine. My name is Valerie and always had a beautiful smile, parents paid for braces and care and I was in a terrible car accident at 17 and been on and off meds for yrs but got on ms contin like in 2009 and my teeth are all eroded down and most r gone except in the root but its going to the bone! Like others I've been focusing on trying to get rid of pain but now i see all these posts about teeth problems! I certainly am going thru the pain, less meds because of the people who r more addicts overdosing then pain patients, and now this horrible tooth situation! I'm so embarrassed I dont even want to go to the dentist and have become a hermit literally except to go to doctor, get meds and some good and then go home! I had my daughter and sister go to the store for me too if I didnt have to! But looks like im living alone cause my daughter has been staying with her boyfriend but needless to say I would be willing to help you with any type of case, for getting teeth fixed as to whatever I can do! I'm sorry you're going through this and I feel your pain because I'm going through the same and I am on disability too that took yrs to fight even with numerous injuries and doctor reports! I just found letters my mom had wrote back in late 90's to try to make sure I had some income and med care! I got it it 99 but my mom passed away in 2010 of cancer or also all that she did to help me probably killed her too! Don't mean to be blunt but just speaking how I feel! If you want to talk message me anytime {edited for privacy} and I hope we can be happy again one day and get our Smiles back and our meds strait and maybe more income too ! Keep up your sweet persons and good luck to you! Love and friends Valerie (if I dont answer right away its cause im not on here everyday but will try to be knowing of you and others going thru this too) Peace and a pain LESS night ahead to all ! XOXOX

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Yknow I've been on all the pain meds too but my teeth starting breaking off and rotting from the inside down to the bone! My mom passed away in 2010 and I still had most of my teeth except ones I had removed on bottom back mostly cause they hurt too much to keep! But I've just realized the drug I've been on alot of since her death has been Lyrica and was on high doses of ms contin last year of 2014 to -15 but I'm thinking the Lyrica and ms contin have caused this terrible problem with my teeth! I MEAN I was on methadone in the 90's and some in early 2000's and still had my teeth but now they have gone to the bone and just broken off and I can see the bone loss and my gums bleed and its horrible! But i always had good teeth, hygiene and parents got me braces and regular dental visits always so why is this happening now just turning 50 in December? I see other women my age with fine teeth so its definitely these meds and not the hygeine and its too bad some people think that! And i love the post about what if Obama had a kidney stone to pass and they told him they were out of morphine or pain meds except some aspirin, and how would he feel! That was good! But anyway i think lyrica definitely should be added to the list of things that cause tooth problems! Peace to all and hopefully soon we can get our teeth fixed everyone before we r too old it won't matter but I shouldn't say that cause we deserve it at any age but would be nice to have teeth again before my pain makes me incapable of even going to do it! Which it is like that already pretty much cause I go nowhere now except to the doctor, pharmacy and food store unless I can get someone to stop for me cause I have developed social anxiety too and dont like to go out and see people, mostly cause of my teeth, anymore! Mostly i stay in my room even though we have whole house which will be sold soon but I can TOTALLY RELATE TO EVERYONE! Thanks for posting EVERYONE! Love Valerie xoxox {edited for privacy}

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Lucky I've been through the same thing with the Lyrica cause in 2010 I had most all my teeth except a few removed towards the back due to pain ! But i had a beautiful smile even when taking many pain meds , fast forward to 2010-11 I started on lyrica and went on higher doses since and my teeth have totally broken, deteriorated to the bone. With roots in but no teeth except a few molars but they r down to the gum and terrible and I'm embarrassed even to go to the dentist ! But i never heard about anyone else with this problem from Lyrica I feel too , just like me ! Peace and maybe you can tell me how they did your teeth if you did have them fixed cause im very nervous about it and have put it off staying home becoming a hermit in the process of pain , meds and embarrassment ! I hope you r better some and good luck to all ! Love Val XOXOX

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KNOW that I have 3 herniated disks, broken tail bone, r/l leg siatic nerve damage, broken jaw, cracked ribs and tore my rotary cuff at 32 yts old. I was raised in a severely abusive childhood, BUT w/out 1 paid gymnastics lesson n many abusive attempts to deter me from 4 hrs of high school gymnastics... I received awards, Varsity letters, Captain of the team, All States 1st place on all 4 events n offered full scholarship's to the 3 University College's I applied to. (I turned 17 my senior year & my step- father REFUSED to sign my College application.) I ended up getting a 2 yr degree at 1 County College, then another 2yr degree at a 2nd County College. Left home at 12:01 the night of my 18th Birthday. Married at 20 yrs old n the ONLY man I had sexual relations with! (I had sexual abuse inconsequential from 3 yrs old to 17yrs old). I worked 2-3 jobs at a time since 16 yrs old. Married a 'Youth Leader" whom daily beat me physically and much emotional abuse. 6yrs n 3 mo's it took me to leave him with no $, assets, child support OR ANY material item's except for my 3 children, their bedroom sets n clothing n few toys. I coached Gymnastics for Level 1-10; Elite, scouted for Olympic hopeful's n my children went to work Mon-Fri from 5pm-9pm with me,and while in school I taught pre-k mom n tot gymnastics from 8 am -1pm. After 15 yrs of coaching and totally supporting my 3 children yet ALWAYS left a open door for a relationship with my 3 kids father, put gift's for his yrs of absence in the mailbox from him to them saying he traveled, ect, B-Day gifts n holidays from him to them- so they NEVER felt deserted; unloved ect. For one day they would, but not for my own personal reasons!!! Anyways, I got hit head on by a truck at 32 (still worked off n on until I wasn't a safe coach for children, then cleaned schools at night, ANY under the table job off n on for the next 5 yr.'s) By 33 yrs old I thought I had the flu...5 days later kidney, liver n heart damage. Both kidneys needed dialysis every other day for 6 mo's n told I had SLE Autoimmune disease; Lupus that left me with arthritis- Osteo/Rheumatoid and a cold would turn into damage to any random organ. If I got too emotional... heart valve damage ect. I NEVER knew from 1st season to season if or to what degree I'd be sick, then mo -mo..finally weekly n day to day! I did whatever to keep a newly built home for my children for 16 hrs,food,clothes, school supplies, proms, sold my Mustang so the 2 girl's could buy a car... AND I had a 3 bedrm, 2 story/ town house n I slept on a pull out couch from day 1 of moving into our new home. I didn't date as a promise to be their EVERY THING until the last child turned 18 yts old! I NEVER was bitter, selfish or 'Made the World Pay or Owe Me for my childhood, abusive marriage, not my fault; car accident, ect. I helped many children, single mother's, charity's, loved n served the Lord & raised my children with unconditional love, joy, laughter, we played a lot together, cried together and they had a VOICE and it was OUR home! At 34, I was given my 1st oxycoten (told n signed a contract that it was non addictive)- in 6 mo's I was on 80 mg long term 2X daily,15 mg short term every 4 hrs,then 100 mg patches for 'Bad Days', til I said in ,6-8 mo's I have to take these meds or I'm shaking,vomiting n wanting to die (withdraw?!). I was handed 3 more scripts totaling 220 pills n 30 day's of 100 Mcg patch n a 30 Mcg patch. I cried and begged to be taken off of these n told it's in my head the withdraw symptoms, depression, anxiety. I ripped up all the scripts and in 48 hrs I was at emergency wanting to end my life...I was put in a pysch unit for 14 days and then sent to a rehab for 12 weeks ONLY to be put on 6/40 mg methadone by 1 of the country's top pain& addiction specialist's! 6 yrs on that s*** I gained 60 pounds of my 5'6 120 lb prior body. My kids said my blue eyes looked scary, I layed around A LOT, self medicated during ANY of my parents get together's,stayed in P.J's for days! My youngest tried a oxy at school n in 6 mos taking my methadone.. So I went back to patches until 3 mo's more n my son was taking any norco n wearing my 200MCG patches (that after 48 hrs I took off n trashed), be wore 100 on his arm n 100 in his mouth and got another 1 1/2 days out of my throw away's! When I saw my 14 yr old son all messed up, n my 2 16/17 yr old daughter's stay at their friends house or in their room...I cold turkey'd for 5 weeks (the ENTIRE time my son went to rehab, n obtained 7 yrs sobriety- then to present time), & my girls said " Mommy, we hear how our Grandmother n Grandfather talk down to you, N Grandpa corners you to grab your body,you shake as we drive down their sleep, you NEVER let us stay over alone, You cry n talk lime a little child in your sleep since we were in middle school. PLEASE talk to someone .BELIEVE we love you cause we want to n NOT cause we have to. I was also dissociating (a skill I used to cope as a child), but I was losing hrs of time n lost ALL control! ...SO not EVERYONE are horrible, loser's, chose to become addicted, waste if life's, ect!!! Some are genetically predisposed, been through- around-n-back incidents of fear, physical, mental, sexual abuse and hung on for 20,30,40 yrs! Or have a genetically engineered pysch issue that NO parent,teacher or Doctor picked up on...so they self medicated because had they not then suicide is not a constant thought but a reality! If this world could just understand a little, realize that you grew up maybe in s healthy home; which is just, PURE LUCK,I was healthy n kept a healthy lifestyle despite MANY deterrent obstacles and I got in a car accident n 1 yr later.. SLE (which the medical world is finding more severe cases like mine attributed to lack of REM sleep as a child; the 8 or more uninterrupted sleep hrs when your cells learn to replicate, healing itself... That's when your body learns! I NEVER slept uninterrupted for more than 3 hr time spans! If you can just love, listen, support others rather than talk or be rotten... Can you imagine how many people would not feel so Afraid, Unworthy, Less-Than, Suicidal or TOTALLY ALONE?! IF that's just impossible for you...say NOTHING!!! Today you may get injured to NO fault of your own...you could; well if more than 6-8 mo's on pain med's, BECOME all the horrible word's you texted!?

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I am a 62 yr. old female who has been on oxycotin for a while. After taking it for a few yrs. my teeth all began to rot from the inside out. I had to have them all pulled, and got dentures and have a hard time wearing them. I know just what you are going through. I think people should be informed that this can happen to your teeth and given the the option weather to take it or not. If I would have known I would lose my teeth I would have never taken it.

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I have noticed a few teeth going bad myself - Ive been through 43 surgeries and am in the disabled army as well. Never had a CLUE why they were getting bad and today I started searching and found out. The Pain Mgmnt place has me on 400mg Morphine and 90mg of oxycodone and Im at the point where I cant STAND that stuff anymore. Im about ready to just HURT.

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Donated Dental a program for disabled people did hundreds of dollars of dental work for me. They get dentists in your area to provide free dental care. Call a aging and disability resource center in your area and ask them to locate the number for you. They do everything from cleaning teeth to getting you dentures if they know of the severity of the issue.

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I commented about this once before regarding Methadone and tooth loss and was told it was all in my head. Dentists said it was neglect. I also had beautiful teeth. Now in my 60s I had my mouth redone a few times over, almost all implants.

I can give you a guess but either big pharm isn't being honest (surprise) or no one cared enough to do a study. I was only on Methadone about 10 years but that was in my early 20s, I would wake up and teeth would have split in two, they got weak and never had more cavaities in my life. When I would ask a dentist what happened the same answer neglect and or trauma. What is trauma to the teeth? I think that meds in general make your mouth dry and that might lead to decay it certainly doesn't help.

See if there is a dental school in your area they do the work for about 1/3 of the cost. Is it time consuming yes, but its a solution. In my opinion I would say yes that opioid pain med leads to either bone or some kind of calcium loss. Has it been substantiated? no, but who cares it happened to us right?

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I feel you Angie I'm going through the same thing as far as needing my dental work done.I miss eating alot of foods and don't feel confident doing any dating right now lol with my mouth in this condition.

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I too have been on pain meds the last 15 yrs. Starting with Vicodin to oxycontin and oxycodone now. My teeth have slowly broken and rotted away. I also went through chemo for stage 3 lymphomo and thought that might be the cause but I'm wondering which if not both did the damage. Hope something's done about this. Take care everyone!

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SORRY I HAVE HEARD ABOUT METHADONE USERS WITH TEETH ROTTEN, IM IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE LSU DENTAL SCHOOL MAKES UPPER OR LOWER DENTURE PLATES 350.00 ONLY TRY TO FIND A DENTAL SCHOOL OR CALL A local comunity center for help.good luck,have you tryed suboxone it my help you get off the pills

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Hello Valerie, and a BIG HELLO AND HUG TO MAILMAN! I know it's been awhile but in addition to the problem we all share, I found an odd, hard lump just to the right of my lower right jaw that neither my PVP, EN&T specialist, nor the oral surgeon who I was referred to (my ENT called the oral surgeon PERSONALLY to get me in the very next day!) could figure out what it was. After getting a CT scan, I went in to have it removed and, once it was, the doctor said it was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen (not very encouraging) and sent it out for biopsy. I don't think I have to tell y'all that I'm quite concerned and worried about the potential that it could be cancerous but I'm trying to stay positive that it's not. I go back to see him on the 19th and the way I'm thinking, if I don't hear from him beforehand ("I need you to come see me in the office as soon as possible," or, "I'd like you to make an appointment with doctor so and so.... an oncologist, of course..... right away") the better off I'll be so at this point, and even though I am scared, I'm thinking no news is good news. Needless to say, this hasn't done anything for my already poor, depressed state of mind either. Now I rarely leave my room, much less my house, unless I have to go to the grocery store for my Mom (who's also having medical issues that I have to watch and take care of her for), the pain doctor, or the pharmacy. I'll go weeks between showers and will go almost as long before I'll even wash my hair until my Mom gets on my case so much that I'll finally relent and wash it in the sink. I'm literally a shadow of the active and involved person I used to be and I've pretty much given up all hope of my situation ever getting better. I did, however, look into that dental donation organization to find out if they would help me (I met all of their criteria) only to find out that every county in my state was CLOSED! So, what the heck and why bother anymore? Well enough of my self loathing and belly aching...... best wishes and much love to all of you, my toothless comrades in pain. Christine

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EVERYONE READ THIS!!!!
OPIATES/OPIOIDS DO NOT ROT TEETH DIRECTLY. What happens is these drugs as well as a host of other drugs DRY OUT YOUR MOUTH CAUSING DECAY. Your saliva helps to keep your teeth clean. So when your mouth is dry and lacking saliva, decay sets in. Drinking water won't work, you need to use a special product called Biotene. It is the equivalent of artificial saliva - keeping your mouth moisturized. It comes as a mouthwash, spray, toothpaste, etc. Biotene may not be the only brand but it's the only one I have found. Normal mouthwash will not work and will dry your mouth out more. You need a MOISTURIZING mouthwash like Biotene.
The 'opiates/opioids rot my teeth' thing is a myth. It is DRY MOUTH from the drugs that CAUSES ROT.

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This is exactly right. I too have extreme dry mouth secondary to medication. I also had perfect teeth and have since lost 3 teeth because of the dry mouth. The biotin only works for 20 min at a time. I find chewing gum works best for me and my dry mouth. Good luck.

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I've never heard of such tooth damage, but that's such a shockingly high dosage, I'm not surprised to hear it's doing something bad to your body. Try a different doctor.

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Seagazer..... I'm appalled that you would insult everyone and their serious dental situations by your heartless and uninformed comments. You've obviously not only not done any research on the subject but, WORSE, you've summarily dismissed every person on this forum who've bared their souls, their feelings and their awful dental experiences after years of battling unimaginable pain that, for the most part, could only be treated (and most of the time not well) with opiate pain medication! Please keep your negative and judgemental comments to yourself and thank the Lord that you don't have to deal with even a fraction of the pain, both physical and emotional, that most all of us have had to for YEARS!

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Don't know you but wish you the best stay on it I thought no new was good news once and it was a mix up from a big city Hosp. I was floored when oncology called me, I immediately said, "oncology do I have cancer?" Sometimes hospitals and docs can be overwhelming. The only way out is through I look at it we are in Gods hands and most of us are going to get something, just when. Maybe it's goi g to be ok it's 50-50 take it as good news that doc hadn't seen anything like that.

Please keep us posted we all help one another here, I will say a prayer for good news. This to shall pass. We never get more then we can handle in one day. Peace and serenity to you.

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Oxy rots teeth. Period. I always had exceptionally nice, heathy teeth until approximately five years into taking OxyContin. Actually I had no problems with the drug UNTIL they changed the formulation. If you take this drug, you know what I'm referring to. Within a one year period, I began to experience dry mouth, loose teeth, etc. Then, almost four years later, I lost over ten teeth in less than a couple of months. They simply rotted from inside. I had several of the old type Mercury fillings they used to use in the Early-Mid 70's. They rotted inside so badly that you could actually see the fillings inside the teeth!!! Now after being on them for 15 years, I have six teeth left in my whole mouth. It's gotten so bad that I wear a medical mask over my mouth every time I leave the house, which is only two times a month to visit my doctors. If anyone would like to consider a class action suit, I would happily join. My teeth were not my only loss over this unfortunate journey. Thousands of dollars for Rx's at around $400-$500 per Rx, my self esteem, my career and most of my family. I would encourage anyone reading this to never begin this drug for any reason and if you're already taking it, try other forms of pain management. Although they didn't work for my type of pain, maybe they would be beneficial to others. God Bless each of you and continue to fight each day against pain and it's causes!!!!

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