Baclofen and tooth decay

[Stevo]

I don't know if something like this has been posted before but I have recently had part of a tooth break off.

I brush regularly and very rarely eat sweet things which prompted me to google baclofen and tooth decay.
This may not be a reliable source,I haven't checked it right out but found my first perusal interesting and I thought others here may too.
I am approaching 2 years on bac and although it seems rare I suspect that I may be one of the few who have this SE.

Any input from others would be great.

http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/baclofen/tooth+decay

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Stevo, Hiya!

Nope. That site is beyond bogus.
"Summary: Tooth decay is reported only by a few people who take Baclofen. We study 20,453 people who have side effects while taking Baclofen from FDA and social media. Among them, 2 have Tooth decay. Find out below who they are, when they have Tooth decay and more."
In order to find out more you, or join their "support group" have to put in all your info and it takes you to another bogus site that doesn't say anything at all about baclofen...

Booze actually removes enamel on your teeth.
Baclofen? Nope. I have never had better dental checkups than I have in the last 5 years since starting baclofen.

Sorry about your tooth, though. I have terrible teeth and more than one crown. I don't know about how it's paid for over there, but insurance doesn't cover crowns on this side of the world and they're $$$$.

[Stevo]

LOL Ne,I cottoned on to this after posting and yes dentists are expensive down here especially with no health insurance.

[Spellers]

deleted

[Ne/Neva Eva]

It was my experience that Bac caused dry mouth which led to gum inflammation, blood on brushing etc (hygienist and dentist gave me some stern talks which was embarrassing as I look after my teeth very well, flossing every day etc). Regular saliva flow is needed to keep the mouth healthy. I did oil pulling every couple of days, along with extra care etc, which brought some relief but still didn't clear it up fully. And yes, ultimately after months it led to a bit of tooth decay. I was travelling for work and part of a significant tooth broke away - first time for me.

The issue with dry mouth began to resolve, and my gums improve, as I tapered off HDB levels. At c.75mg it reverted to normal and I stayed at that level for some time, without any further issues.

However, I'm sure one of kool-aid crew will be along shortly to say this is not possibly so.

Spellers, far be it for me (one of the kool-aid crew) to dismiss your experience. I remember having dry mouth, too. But not for long, and certainly not to the detriment of my teeth. I didn't realize that it could lead to a broken tooth, though...

As I said, I had MUCH better dental checkups after I quit drinking. The first time my hygienist was really surprised because my numbers were so much better. (I think that the numbers tell how far your gums have receded, and it's not easy to improve that. Or something like that. Anyway, she was really surprised and commented on it, asking what I was doing differently. Obviously, I didn't want to admit that I'd quit drinking, and stopped passing out before brushing my teeth at night! Ha!)

Anyway, Spellers, sorry it happened and glad it resolved for you when you stopped taking HDB.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

LOL Ne,I cottoned on to this after posting and yes dentists are expensive down here especially with no health insurance.

Here's the other thing about that website that occurred to me after I posted...People spend years collaborating and collating information from medical records. It's not an easy thing to do, since medical records are private and all that. Not to mention that until recently, they're in paper form, or kept in individual databases in doctor's offices. So getting together 20,000 of them would take quite a bit of effort!

Anyway, I realize it's much beside the point.

Sorry again about your tooth. I actually have a broken tooth related to a very old filling, which cracked and then the tooth broke. I'm procrastinating getting a crown for it until I absolutely have to do it because it's so damn expensive. It's in the very back of my mouth, though, where it can't be seen. The dentist said that as long as I'm very meticulous about cleaning it and making sure that there isn't any tooth decay it should be okay for a while.

Do you not have health insurance? I thought the US was one of the last developed countries to ensure that most people have health insurance. Sorry to hear it, Stevo. Hard to take care of your overall health when you don't have it. (Says the soon-to-be-nurse in me...)

[Stevo]

It's all good Ne,health insurance isn't that much of a worry here,we have medicare but they are pushing people in that direction and it does have its benefits.

I hope this doesn't seem rude but I actually thought that The US had a bad policy on health care for the masses compared to a lot of other places including Australia.

I am certainly no expert on these things though lol.

Thanks for the input Spellers too.

[_serenity_]

Stevo -

You are right, the US healthcare system is the absolute worst. Even with insurance, a huge number of people are just a major accident/illness away from financial ruin. If I was injured in a bad auto accident, my local trauma hospital would be considered "out of network" on my insurance, so it would only be covered partially, and there would be no limit on out-of-pocket expenses. It scares me.