Vegan teeth emergency!

[Meg]

Hi everyone,

I am a new member t this forum and could really do with some help. I became vegan about 3 months ago after being vegetarian for about 3 months (never really ate meat anyway but was a big dairy lover). About 1.5 months in to the change to veganism i noticed a have about 6 cavities forming. On 4 teeth I have developed lots of tiny black dots (in my molars) and more teeth are developing this, and on 2 other teeth I have brown lines in the crevices of my teeth (sticky-ish, how cavities are usually described).

I am 18 and have never had ANY dental issues at all, visit the dentist regularly and have never had a cavity, tooth removed, braces etc. Since becoming vegan I have upped my fruit and vegetables, hoever I have always eaten a lot of them. Also, I take 2 different vitamins for teeth and bone health, inc calcium, Vitamin K, C etc. Also I never brush my teeth straight after consuming fruit, I rinse with water and brush no closer than 30 minutes later.

I have no idea what to do, I have booked an appointment with the dentist, but a) I have a slightly irrational fear of needles in gums!; B) i don't really want anything man made permanently in my body, and c) the problem is just getting worse, in 6 months I would just have a mouth full of cavities.

I love the vegan lifestyle and really dont want to consume a load of grass fed butter and organs as is often suggested by non-vegans (ew ew ew yuck no). i know there must be a solution as not all vegans have no teeth!

Sorry for the essay!

If anyone can offer any information that would be amazing, thankyou!

ps. I floss daily and brush my teeth for 2 minutes twice a day (very occasionally more as previously mentioned).

 

[Second Summer]

It sounds like you are taking good care of your teeth. And it doesn't sound completely obvious that the change of diet has anything to do with these presumed cavities, since you've been vegetarian and now vegan for a relatively short time.

I had a bit of a panic myself about a year ago when I noticed black spots on my otherwise mint condition teeth, but was much relieved after visiting the dentist. Apparently, black dots don't necessarily mean cavities. And after a while, the spots disappeared.

Are you taking any vitamin D supplements? Or do you live somewhere with decent sunshine year round, so you get vitamin D from exposure?

Also, how much calcium are you getting in your supplements? Many soya milks (and other plant milks) are fortified with calcium - you might want to consider that as well.

Another thing to consider, I've noticed that bags of dried lentils, beans etc. in rare cases can contain small pieces of rock. So now I'm very careful to rinse and visually inspect such foods before cooking, to avoid any tooth damage that way. Dried beans and lentils are wonderful foods though, I don't recommend against them at all.

 

[Meg]

Thankyou for your advice, it's very reassuring!

I did consider that it is not related because cavities, from what I have read, take a long time to form- maybe they are just showing themselves on my tooth surface recently.

I take vitamin D supplements daily, and double dose of calcium just to be on the safe side!

The black dots are holes, tiny, just larger than pin-***** size holes, only there are about 6 on 1 tooth, also they are in the top of my bottom molars, which obviously I use to chew! (this is what made me think it is something stemming from my inner tooth not just surface.)

I have never noticed that about lentils, but will be sure to thoroughly rinse from now on.
I did read somewhere that black spots can mean remineralisation (i have improved diet and tooth care regime so considered this) but this seems an unusual opinion, and have had no previous tooth problems so am not sure what would be remieralising...

Thankyou for your reply.

 

[Second Summer]

Another thing to consider: sugary & carbonated drinks are completely no-no for people who want to have good teeth. I think fruit juices are okay to some extent, but soda, which is sugary and carbonated at the same time, is death to dental health.

 

[ledboots]

Hi.Meg and welcome! Sorry about your teeth! Frequent vomiting is a cause of fast-appearing tooth decay, if that's applicable.

 

[Meg]

I don't drink carbonated drinks, or vomit barely ever.
I do drink quite a lot of juice though...
Thankyou