Help! My tooth enamel is terrible and related things

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I'm feeling pretty bad, because no matter what I do, the enamel on my

teeth remains thin and very susceptible to decay. I thought that by

eating WAP, this would get better, but I'm feeling frustrated. The

holistic dentist I saw today told me that I should go back to using

toothpaste with fluoride (I switched to non-fluoridated toothpaste a

few months ago) because calculus builds up so quickly on my teeth. He

was surprised by just how much calculus I have on some of my teeth

given that my last cleaning was only a month ago.

Acidic foods (e.g. citrus fruit) seem to make things worse. You would

not believe how much my teeth wore down back when I used to consume

things like sugar-free Kool-Aid and diet pop. The high concentration

of citric acid in that garbage ate my front teeth down, which cost

money to repair, as you can imagine.

Also, I have interstitial cystitis. I was properly diagnosed in the

hospital (they inflate and fill the bladder with fluid to check). I

don't have the reallly nasty kind that causes pain, fortunately, but

it's still not fun to always feel like I need to go to the washroom

when my bladder is barely full (to clarify, IC isn't the same as a

bladder infection, and IC is chronic). Acidic foods, like oranges and

tomatoes, aggravate it more. I no longer have caffeine (not a bad

thing to cut out, anyway) because it has such a terrible effect (I

would be living in the bathroom if I was still having it). Ascorbic

acid is a problem, too (the holistic dentist suggested this for the

day I get my amalgams removed. Not in an IV, but taken orally, but

that would be such hell for my bladder, I don't want to use it).

Someone I spoke to at the dental clinic told me that she had the same

problem with her bladder. She wasn't diagnosed with IC (though she

likely has it) but her ND suggested she take calcium supplements. That

helped her - she no longer suffers with IC unless she doesn't take

her calcium (2000 mg in supplements a day for her, which she knows is

A LOT).

Any thoughts on this are appreciated. It seems I'm one of the unlucky

ones who, even if I eat really well and avoid the usual problematic

things (e.g. sticky, starchy/sugary things), I'll have problems. I was

advised to use fluoride toothpaste again, or to use a fluoride rinse.

The water here isn't fluoridated, so that's good. The dentist said

ingesting fluoride is definitely not good, of course.

Any help is appreciated. My dental bills are getting high because I

don't have insurance, but I'm not being gouged, I just have expensive

problems.

Thanks in advance!