Calcium deficit?

[annybunny]

Hey guys,
so I'm a 17 y/o new vegan (since january 2020) and right from the beginning, my parents did not approve that at all. Even though they had to let me do it (i didn't wanna back down from my decision), whenever i had anything to complain about, it was because I'm vegan and not getting enough nutrients etc... So my problme is that i realized that one of my teeth feels a little loose and when i told my parents they didn't consider anything else and just were like "you should not be vegan anymore, you already feel the cosequences" and won't even let me see a dentist.
Now i would really appreciate your advice: what should i do? Cause i believe that there are more possible reasons for it that my diet (i.e. calcium deficit or i hit it,...)
Thanks in advance

 

[Second Summer]

Not letting you see a dentist for a dental problem sounds like child neglect to me.

Did you have any accident where the tooth or your mouth got injured?

What is your diet like? Do you have any good sources of calcium? Vitamin D?

If you've only been vegan since January, assuming it's a nutritionally deficient vegan diet, I'm unsure that is long enough to affect your dental health already (except caries if you were eating a lot of sweets).

 

[silva]

IF calcium deficiency is the cause for your loose tooth it would have taken years, so if your parents want to pin it on diet-looks like they're to blame! I can't now find research that shows the time frame of cause and effect, but a few months is not enough. I recall that conversation with my dentist, as I had been mostly vegan in my teen years, and have always had dental problems. My whole family had dental problems, and he confirmed genetics was the largest cause.
Almost everything you can find on calcium lists dairy products, but they are in the minority of foods that raise calcium levels

Calcium deficiency disease (hypocalcemia): 7 symptoms and causes

calcium | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

Calcium and Strong Bones

Beans and dark leafy greens like kale, collards. A proper plant based diet is by far the healthiest, as the same nutrients in meat and dairy come with other effects you don't want.

 

[silva]

You NEED to see a dentist. Whatever is the reason it didn't happen in a few months, won't be remedied by any diet anyway.
If you have to, go along with your parents until you can be treated. dental problems become so much worse without treatment. If there is a dental school they are much more affordable.
I see you're in Germany. I don't know anything about that as far as cost. It's bad in the US, even if you're lucky enough to have insurance

As a side note, a water irrigation device (water pic?) is so great for getting food out and gum health

 

[annybunny]

Not letting you see a dentist for a dental problem sounds like child neglect to me.

Did you have any accident where the tooth or your mouth got injured?

What is your diet like? Do you have any good sources of calcium? Vitamin D?

If you've only been vegan since January, assuming it's a nutritionally deficient vegan diet, I'm unsure that is long enough to affect your dental health already (except caries if you were eating a lot of sweets).

Thanks for your quick answer!
No, there hasn't been any particular incident, that's why i am a little worried... I am having soy joghurt or plant drink +calcium everyday for breakfast as well as tofu or chick peas for lunch 3times a week.
And no, i am not much of a sweet tooth and really pay attention to additional sugar in edibles it doesn`t belong in, so i concluded no caries

 

[David3]

There aren't many peer-reviewed studies comparing the dental health of vegetarians vs. omnivores.

Here is one such study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Periodontal conditions in vegetarians: a clinical study. - PubMed - NCBI . This study, done by Hannover Medical School in Germany, found that vegetarians had better periodontal (gum) health, fewer loose teeth, and fewer missing teeth than the omnivores. The vegetarians had more dental cavities and erosions than the omnivores.

I am always reluctant to draw conclusions from studies, but it seems that the vegetarians in the study had overall better dental health than the omnivores. Although the vegetarians had tooth decay and erosions, it would appear that, on average, the omnivores were more likely to have severe tooth decay, requiring tooth extraction.


I can't find any peer-reviewed studies on the dental health of vegans.

This website presents a thorough summary of peer-reviewed research on vegan diets and bone health: Calcium Part 2—Research .

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the world's largest association of Registered Dietitians) makes these recommendations for maintaining dental health: Healthy Nutrition for Healthy Teeth

 

[SaraSmith85]

Hey guys,
so I'm a 17 y/o new vegan (since january 2020) and right from the beginning, my parents did not approve that at all. Even though they had to let me do it (i didn't wanna back down from my decision), whenever i had anything to complain about, it was because I'm vegan and not getting enough nutrients etc... So my problme is that i realized that one of my teeth feels a little loose and when i told my parents they didn't consider anything else and just were like "you should not be vegan anymore, you already feel the cosequences" and won't even let me see a dentist.
Now i would really appreciate your advice: what should i do? Cause i believe that there are more possible reasons for it that my diet (i.e. calcium deficit or i hit it,...)
Thanks in advance

Its too little info to know about. It really depends how you eat. But normally in my personal opinion, calcium is not a huge problem for vegans. But in any case, eat healthy vegan food, not unhealthy vegan food.

 

[Mufflon]

I see you're in Germany. I don't know anything about that as far as cost. It's bad in the US, even if you're lucky enough to have insurance

You can go to the dentist if you have health insurance (people not having health insurance in Germany are rare exceptions only). At 17 year old one doesn't need to ask the parents to go to the dentist. Unless they have private health insurance they even won't know their 17 year old offspring went to the dentist to have a look at the teeth.
When it comes to treatment things have become shitty in Germany when it comes to teeth and other things. But the basic stuff is still covered by health insurance.