Vitamin C and Gum Disease

[Demokat]

I visited the dentist a few weeks ago, and I have graduated from chronic gingivitis to early stage gum disease. :( This is a systemic thing that I've had since I was a teenager, because I take good care of my teeth.

One of the things she mentioned was to take Vitamin C, that it has a healing affect on the gums. So, what kind of C should I take? What is better absorbed by the body? Are there any brands you recommend? After all the negative threads about it, I wonder if C does any good.

[Zuleikaa]

I think vitamin C, D and magnesium as well as oregano oil are good for gum health. Also helpful is rinsing/swishing with hydrogen peroxide before brushing your teeth.

[Citruskiss]

I haven't seen much negative stuff about vitamin C - though I have personally been told to avoid extra supplementation with vitamin C, but that's because I have a peculiar thing going on with my iron metabolism that's still being figured out.

Vitamin C is good. You can look for a high-potency multi which might have lots of extra C - and then supplement with a straight Vitamin C pill - like 1,000mg.

Or, if you're not into taking a bunch of pill-type supplements, you could consider buying some of that EmergenC powdered drink - I've seen a sugar free variety I think.

The vitamin C will definitely help with the gums.

[Gostrydr]

Demokat. I would take one that contains additional bioflavanoids and rose hips and I would shoot for at leat 5 grams a day for a while, till things get better.

You could also do a load of Vit C crystals like 3 tsps a day (15 grams) .Watch your bowels, that is the best way to tell if you are taking in too much. Too much C will thin the bowels.

Nutricology has a nice buffered Vit C crystal formula

Though I'm quite sure you do not have scurvy, bleeding gums is one of the symptoms.

People with Celiac or Crohns can have a Vit C deficiency since it is absorbed in the small intestine.. I mention this because there seems to be a lot of people on this forum with these afflictions

[Gostrydr]

Citrus kiss,
I know you are well up on the ins and outs of what is going on with you, but have tried Iron Carbonyl??

It is a slower(and better) absorbed Iron..because it does absorb at a slower rate, there is no risk of Iron overload,,

Just a thought

[Citruskiss]

Citrus kiss,
I know you are well up on the ins and outs of what is going on with you, but have tried Iron Carbonyl??

It is a slower(and better) absorbed Iron..because it does absorb at a slower rate, there is no risk of Iron overload,,

Just a thought

Well, I'm on a bit of learning curve with this iron thing - the thing was that I had too much iron in my system, and one phlebotomy treatment resolved it, bringing my iron back to 'normal'. There is no way to reduce one's iron load except via loss of blood.

I go back for blood tests in August - and this is when I'll have a better idea of what the deal is. Right now, we don't know if I have an 'iron metabolism' problem, or if it was just a one-off thing (heavy supplementation with vitamin C, along with iron in my multi-vitamin and so on). I was getting a ton of vitamin C, along with lots of additional (apparently not needed) iron with all the supplements I was taking.

So I uh...quit taking everything on the advice of my doctor.

That said - I had one phlebotomy (basically just a blood donation) and suddenly my iron problem was resolved...that was a huge relief.

Now I'm back to taking a multi-vitamin (as of today) - a 'no iron' one, but it still has vitamin C - albeit a very small amount. I've also added cal/mag/potassium, because I'm recently finding some real success lately with weight loss ....and having those electrolyte issue cramps and so on. And yes - I have that "Electro-mix" stuff you recommended...:)

I think that I get all the iron I need from my diet. I don't think anyone should be taking extra iron, and I certainly don't think people should take multi-vitamins with added iron, unless for some reason they need it.

The irony (ha ha) is that Vitamin C , while greatly enhancing iron absorption, it's also an anti-oxidant (ie. very beneficial). If you have low iron, then by all means - take extra C, and take it with your meals. If you have high iron, then avoid C supplementation, or take it before bed, when you're not going to be ingesting iron from your meals.

Demokat - sorry for the thread hijack :( I hope that it wasn't my previous posts about vitamin C and iron etc. that made you think Vitamin C was bad - it's not bad at all, it's a powerhouse nutrient. It's just that for people who are dealing with too much iron, it's not a good thing.

Hmm...I'm a little worried I'm confusing the issue.

Vitamin C is good! No problem to take a bunch...unless for some strange reason you discover that you've got too much iron in your system - which is supposed to be a rare thing. And I know that vitamin C will be good for gum health. Get a multi-vitamin that has lots of vitamin C in it, one of those super high-potency ones, and then buy yourself an additional bottle of just Vitamin C - like 1,000mg or more. Up the veggies....and if you want even more Vitamin C - then look for a high-potency B-complex supplement - which will usually have a bunch of vitamin C in it as well as the b-vitamins. That should do the trick! That's uh...all the stuff I was taking...lol!

Gostrydr - I'm supposed to avoid any iron supplementation. I think I get a lot from my diet as it is, especially with low-carbing. I'm not exactly sure (yet) what exactly happened there, but I ended up with a 70% blood iron saturation level, which is really high. Amazingly, it was cleared up with one blood donation, and I'm now just about to find out (in a couple of weeks) whether I really do have an iron-metabolism problem, or if I was just over-supplementing with all kinds of vitamins and so on. I have two doctors who seem to think I was 'over-supplementing'. I'm not sure I buy that, but we'll see. Thanks for the suggestion about the Iron Carbonyl - but I'm really not supposed to have any extra iron at all, no matter how slowly it might be absorbed. At least, not until we see what the deal is. Thank you though, much appreciated :)

Sigh...really hope I haven't totally confused the entire issue here.... :o

Sara
PS - Demokat - I hope you feel better soon - I think taking some extra vitamin C will make your gums feel better in pretty short order. Like, in a matter of days.

[Demokat]

Thanks Zuleikaa, Sara, and Steve for the recommendations. I'm pretty sure that I don't have scurvy, Steve! :D BUT, I do have celiac, which may explain a lot. I eat lots of veggies, and I've recently added berries to my diet. I've had issues with my gums since my teens, and I was an undiagnosed celiac until my 30s. Thank you all for your help.

Kathy

[Nancy LC]

Ah ha! I was going to suggest gluten intolerance. Guess I don't need to now. :) You know, beneficial bacteria might help you out too. Yes, we have them in the mouth and when the bad bacteria take over, we get gum disease. You could try eating/taking probiotics and I think they might even have probiotic mouth rinses now too, you might want to check into that.

[Demokat]

Ah ha! I was going to suggest gluten intolerance. Guess I don't need to now. :) You know, beneficial bacteria might help you out too. Yes, we have them in the mouth and when the bad bacteria take over, we get gum disease. You could try eating/taking probiotics and I think they might even have probiotic mouth rinses now too, you might want to check into that.

Thanks, Nancy. I take Udo's probiotics (30 billion viable/active cells per capsule) daily. I'll look for the mouth rinses. How weird to find out that gum disease is yet another ailment that coincides with gluten intolerance.

[kebaldwin]

As a reader/admirer of the dentist Weston A Price - he believed / proved that most dental problems are actually a lack of poor nutrition / poor food.

http://www.westonaprice.org/

You can usually buy copies of his books used - and are a fantastic and eye opening read.

People keep trying to relate dental problems with heart attacks, dental problems with diabetes, dental problems with dementia (and mental problems), etc. They keep trying to imply - dental problems cause all these other problems.

IMHO - I agree with Dr Weston A Price and Dr Atkins - most of these problems (including dental problems) are a result of poor nutrition.

I believe (don't quote me) that Dr Weston A Price showed that eating right - was more important than brushing and flossing and all that stuff.

[Demokat]

I mustn't be absorbing nutrients then. I have eaten free-range/organic etc. for over 20 years. I've been a big vegetable eater since I was a kid-my mother never had to force me to eat my broccoli. :) I was raised eating well-no processed or canned crap. I was, however, a vegetarian for several years which may have led to vitamin deficiencies. I was also a sugar addict, so even when I was young and fit and thin, I consumed lots of chocolate, and cakes and cookies and ice cream. Sugar is the devil, but we all already know that! :)