Please feel free to skip to paragraph 10 if you don't wanna read my dental history, etc. : )
So here's my deal... I'm 38 years old. Avoided the dentist from about 1988 until 2007, when I finally got the nerve to go see one. I was anticipating major work would need doing, but to my surprise x-rays revealed no cavities. Alls I needed was a major deep cleaning to remove some calcifications or whatever from between the teeth.
The next time I saw a dentist was about 2 years later, another exam and x-rays and still no cavities. Had yet another exam and x-rays last June. This time the dentist found what he called a pre-cavity or whatever on a lower right molar, gave me some tubes of GCMI paste which he said should hopefully repair the damage.
I've used the paste pretty regularly since, along with other rinses, brushing 2-4 x day with my sonicare, flossing usually 2-3 x day and chewing sugarless gum with xylitol. Basically I couldn't do anything more to take care of my teeth.
Late last August I started vaping. Quit smoking the day I got my kits. Pretty much since the beginning I've been using 50/50 PG/VG liquids from a few popular US suppliers.
So then last March 7th I went to another dentist. I'd bought a $49 groupon for a cleaning, x-rays and exam from this office. Of course they're not gonna make any money on the deal unless I come back for more services in the future, but the Dr. was around 60 years old and did seem like a pro.
After looking at the x-rays, he gets out his red pen and starts marking a whole bunch of areas in between my right molars as having cavities. Of course this was a very unhappy surprise. He quoted 400 something for one of the cavities and a hundred something for the others.
I was also in the market to have 2 crowns redone, but his quote was too high, so I continued looking and found a really swell dentist I like a lot and whose quote was more reasonable for the job.
He examined my teeth and saw no cavities, thought the groupon dentist's quote for the cavities was outrageous and sort of implied that he may have been looking to pad his wallet, but unfortunately we didn't take x-rays. His office is quite busy and frankly I was anticipating spending a bunch on my recent move, so I don't care to spend unnecessarily.
Now of course I'm wishing I'd had some taken, as I do have some occasional sensitivity in the molars and I'm worried the groupon dentist was right and the cavities may be progressing. However, now I've moved 85 miles away from my new dentist and not scheduled to go back for the crowns for another month. Also I'm a cheapskate and after burning thru 5 grand or so on the move, I need to save whenever I can. Having said that, I do intend to find a local office to at least take some x-rays when I can. Until then I won't know for sure if my teeth are in any trouble.
I've searched the forum for vapers who've reported cavities as a side effect, but only found a few posts mentioning them. I'd think there would be many more if it was something worth being concerned about.
ECF vapers have mentioned that PG can dry out the teeth, but in my googling I've also seen a fair bit of chatter on health forums and such regarding glycerin coating the teeth and preventing remineralization. I'm thinking that if this is so, perhaps the areas in between teeth would be especially vulnerable, as the brushing can't get in there, and flossing may not remove the glycerin very well.
I don't wanna get folks worried about this if there's nothing to it. The main proponent of the glycerin preventing remineralization theory, a Dr. Gerald Judd (deceased), is apparently dismissed by many as a kook.
But if glycerin does indeed have this effect, we vapers should perhaps take steps to minimize potential damage. I plan to reduce the VG in my liquids to perhaps 20% or less, rinse with salt water and/or flouride after brushing, not vape after the final brushing of the day and get regular x-rays, as I don't think dentists can visually inspect the areas between the teeth adequately.
I welcome any of your thoughts or insights. You can probably find the same info that I've read by googling 'glycerin remineralization' (without quotes).
So here's my deal... I'm 38 years old. Avoided the dentist from about 1988 until 2007, when I finally got the nerve to go see one. I was anticipating major work would need doing, but to my surprise x-rays revealed no cavities. Alls I needed was a major deep cleaning to remove some calcifications or whatever from between the teeth.
The next time I saw a dentist was about 2 years later, another exam and x-rays and still no cavities. Had yet another exam and x-rays last June. This time the dentist found what he called a pre-cavity or whatever on a lower right molar, gave me some tubes of GCMI paste which he said should hopefully repair the damage.
I've used the paste pretty regularly since, along with other rinses, brushing 2-4 x day with my sonicare, flossing usually 2-3 x day and chewing sugarless gum with xylitol. Basically I couldn't do anything more to take care of my teeth.
Late last August I started vaping. Quit smoking the day I got my kits. Pretty much since the beginning I've been using 50/50 PG/VG liquids from a few popular US suppliers.
So then last March 7th I went to another dentist. I'd bought a $49 groupon for a cleaning, x-rays and exam from this office. Of course they're not gonna make any money on the deal unless I come back for more services in the future, but the Dr. was around 60 years old and did seem like a pro.
After looking at the x-rays, he gets out his red pen and starts marking a whole bunch of areas in between my right molars as having cavities. Of course this was a very unhappy surprise. He quoted 400 something for one of the cavities and a hundred something for the others.
I was also in the market to have 2 crowns redone, but his quote was too high, so I continued looking and found a really swell dentist I like a lot and whose quote was more reasonable for the job.
He examined my teeth and saw no cavities, thought the groupon dentist's quote for the cavities was outrageous and sort of implied that he may have been looking to pad his wallet, but unfortunately we didn't take x-rays. His office is quite busy and frankly I was anticipating spending a bunch on my recent move, so I don't care to spend unnecessarily.
Now of course I'm wishing I'd had some taken, as I do have some occasional sensitivity in the molars and I'm worried the groupon dentist was right and the cavities may be progressing. However, now I've moved 85 miles away from my new dentist and not scheduled to go back for the crowns for another month. Also I'm a cheapskate and after burning thru 5 grand or so on the move, I need to save whenever I can. Having said that, I do intend to find a local office to at least take some x-rays when I can. Until then I won't know for sure if my teeth are in any trouble.
I've searched the forum for vapers who've reported cavities as a side effect, but only found a few posts mentioning them. I'd think there would be many more if it was something worth being concerned about.
ECF vapers have mentioned that PG can dry out the teeth, but in my googling I've also seen a fair bit of chatter on health forums and such regarding glycerin coating the teeth and preventing remineralization. I'm thinking that if this is so, perhaps the areas in between teeth would be especially vulnerable, as the brushing can't get in there, and flossing may not remove the glycerin very well.
I don't wanna get folks worried about this if there's nothing to it. The main proponent of the glycerin preventing remineralization theory, a Dr. Gerald Judd (deceased), is apparently dismissed by many as a kook.
But if glycerin does indeed have this effect, we vapers should perhaps take steps to minimize potential damage. I plan to reduce the VG in my liquids to perhaps 20% or less, rinse with salt water and/or flouride after brushing, not vape after the final brushing of the day and get regular x-rays, as I don't think dentists can visually inspect the areas between the teeth adequately.
I welcome any of your thoughts or insights. You can probably find the same info that I've read by googling 'glycerin remineralization' (without quotes).
