Dentists and bulemia misdiagnoses for cyclists



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mollygidget

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Jan 20, 2011
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Hi!
I'm new to the forum, because generally when I have cycling questions, I can turn to my team. However, this one is directed at other women cyclists. I'm a really serious cyclist, I race pretty much year round, train 15-25 hours a week, did an Ironman last summer, etc. I recently had to get a bunch of dental work done, and when my dentist was done, he asked if I was bulimic. He said that the erosion on my enamel was consistent with what he would see for someone with bulimia. I'm not bulimic, never have been, so I was obviously confused. Then I remembered a female teammate who, upon visiting her dentist, got asked the exact same thing. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, or whether it's just a weird coincidence that she and I were asked the same thing. I'm thinking if there are a few women cyclists out there who have heard the same thing, there might be something cycling-related (sports drinks from water bottles, saliva, something) that's causing it.
If any of you have had this issue or know a female (or male) cyclist who has, I would really appreciate your input!

Thanks!!
 
Originally Posted by mollygidget .

Hi!
I'm new to the forum, because generally when I have cycling questions, I can turn to my team. However, this one is directed at other women cyclists. I'm a really serious cyclist, I race pretty much year round, train 15-25 hours a week, did an Ironman last summer, etc. I recently had to get a bunch of dental work done, and when my dentist was done, he asked if I was bulimic. He said that the erosion on my enamel was consistent with what he would see for someone with bulimia. I'm not bulimic, never have been, so I was obviously confused. Then I remembered a female teammate who, upon visiting her dentist, got asked the exact same thing. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, or whether it's just a weird coincidence that she and I were asked the same thing. I'm thinking if there are a few women cyclists out there who have heard the same thing, there might be something cycling-related (sports drinks from water bottles, saliva, something) that's causing it.
If any of you have had this issue or know a female (or male) cyclist who has, I would really appreciate your input!

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Hi Molly welcome to the forums. How about acid reflux? Frequent heartburn would have some of the same effects as bulimia in some cases. Maybe your Dentist thinks that any woman who is FIT (skinny to them) is bulimic.
 
"I'm thinking if there are a few women cyclists out there who have heard the same thing, there might be something cycling-related (sports drinks from water bottles, saliva, something) that's causing it.
If any of you have had this issue or know a female (or male) cyclist who has, I would really appreciate your input!"

I don't have any specific examples but I am a dentist and my guess would be that the erosion/excessive wear is due to the acid in the drinks, gu, blocks, etc. Acid is also produced by bacteria in your mouth anytime you ingest sugars or starches. Bacteria eats what you eat and it's waste is basically acidic. Unfortunately we as cyclists (especially those who train as many hours as you do per week) are constantly bombarding our teeth with acid. When you eat or drink every 15 minutes for hours on end, your teeth are breaking down the entire time. Your saliva doesn't have much chance to neutralize the acid. The end result is either tooth decay or erosion.

It is reported the Tyler Hamilton gritted his teeth while riding in pain and wore many of his teeth away. This is also a potential contributor. In addition, the acid present will accelerate the wear due to grinding.
 
Originally Posted by ecandl .
Your saliva doesn't have much chance to neutralize the acid. The end result is either tooth decay or erosion.
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Sp, what can we do to save our teeth? My situation isn't exactly the same, but the answer would help me regardless!
 
How's your diet apart from the sports drinks and gu? Sweating heavily for 16 or more hours a week means losing a lot of minerals, especially magnesium and calcium, which are both important for tooth enamel and bones. This is why pro racers (male) have often been found to have low bone density. You may have to increase the amounts of green and leafys in your diet or take a cal-mag supplement with at least one of your meals to replace it.
Another thing you could do is keep a bottle of plain water on your bike at all times and follow a mouthful of sports drink with a swish of plain water around your teeth to rinse the sugars off.
 
Originally Posted by nuliajuk .

How's your diet apart from the sports drinks and gu? Sweating heavily for 16 or more hours a week means losing a lot of minerals, especially magnesium and calcium, which are both important for tooth enamel and bones. This is why pro racers (male) have often been found to have low bone density. You may have to increase the amounts of green and leafys in your diet or take a cal-mag supplement with at least one of your meals to replace it.
Another thing you could do is keep a bottle of plain water on your bike at all times and follow a mouthful of sports drink with a swish of plain water around your teeth to rinse the sugars off.
Click to expand...
My diet is pretty terrible as I have Behcet's and eating is a struggle most the time. I mostly eat soft foods and soups, but the lack of saliva is ruining my teeth and the exercise isn't helping!
Thank you for your response! I can sure add a swish and vitamin :)
 
If you can tolerate cooked greens, kale gives you tremendous bang for your buck. A cup of kale contains not only a lot of minerals, but also a lot of folate and vitamin K, which are also factors in bone mineralization (and therefore probably good for teeth as well). I like to stir fry it in in a little olive oil with some fine chopped garlic until it turns bright green, then add a splash of white wine and some grated parmesan.
Since vitamin K isn't destroyed by heat unless it's prolonged and excessive, very finely chopped kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, swiss chard, and arugula could all be added to soups toward the end of the cooking cycle. These greens all contain a lot of vitamin K and minerals. (Just don't tell my condo board that I'm growing dandelions on purpose out back of my unit. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif)
 
Originally Posted by nuliajuk .

If you can tolerate cooked greens, kale gives you tremendous bang for your buck. A cup of kale contains not only a lot of minerals, but also a lot of folate and vitamin K, which are also factors in bone mineralization (and therefore probably good for teeth as well). I like to stir fry it in in a little olive oil with some fine chopped garlic until it turns bright green, then add a splash of white wine and some grated parmesan.
Since vitamin K isn't destroyed by heat unless it's prolonged and excessive, very finely chopped kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, swiss chard, and arugula could all be added to soups toward the end of the cooking cycle. These greens all contain a lot of vitamin K and minerals. (Just don't tell my condo board that I'm growing dandelions on purpose out back of my unit. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif)
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Spread Kale out on a cookie sheet and spray lightly with olive oil a little salt and pepper bake it in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes. Better than potato chips.
 
"Sp, what can we do to save our teeth? My situation isn't exactly the same, but the answer would help me regardless!"

No easy answer for cyclists in my opinion. The answer is to decrease the frequency of sugars/starches in your mouth. It might help to drink whatever energy drink you like less frequently and alternate with water. I only drink water unless I go over 90 minutes.
 
mollygidget said:
Hi!
I'm new to the forum, because generally when I have cycling questions, I can turn to my team. However, this one is directed at other women cyclists. I'm a really serious cyclist, I race pretty much year round, train 15-25 hours a week, did an Ironman last summer, etc. I recently had to get a bunch of dental work done, and when my dentist was done, he asked if I was bulimic. He said that the erosion on my enamel was consistent with what he would see for someone with bulimia. I'm not bulimic, never have been, so I was obviously confused. Then I remembered a female teammate who, upon visiting her dentist, got asked the exact same thing. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, or whether it's just a weird coincidence that she and I were asked the same thing. I'm thinking if there are a few women cyclists out there who have heard the same thing, there might be something cycling-related (sports drinks from water bottles, saliva, something) that's causing it.
If any of you have had this issue or know a female (or male) cyclist who has, I would really appreciate your input!

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
mollygidget said:
Hi!
I'm new to the forum, because generally when I have cycling questions, I can turn to my team. However, this one is directed at other women cyclists. I'm a really serious cyclist, I race pretty much year round, train 15-25 hours a week, did an Ironman last summer, etc. I recently had to get a bunch of dental work done, and when my dentist was done, he asked if I was bulimic. He said that the erosion on my enamel was consistent with what he would see for someone with bulimia. I'm not bulimic, never have been, so I was obviously confused. Then I remembered a female teammate who, upon visiting her dentist, got asked the exact same thing. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, or whether it's just a weird coincidence that she and I were asked the same thing. I'm thinking if there are a few women cyclists out there who have heard the same thing, there might be something cycling-related (sports drinks from water bottles, saliva, something) that's causing it.
If any of you have had this issue or know a female (or male) cyclist who has, I would really appreciate your input!

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
 
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