Gluten Worries At The Dentist Or Paranoid?

[sleer]

I'm still relatively new to this whole thing. I was wondering if any of y'all ask your dentist about gluten in the polish/flouride/etc? I have an upcoming dentist appointment (the first since I found out about my gluten problems) and I was wondering if I should call and ask? I can't bear the thought of getting accidentally glutened (my syptoms hang around a while) but I don't want to be overly paranoid either. Any advice is appreciated.

[T.H.]

  On 8/31/2011 at 1:29 PM, sleer said:

I was wondering if any of y'all ask your dentist about gluten in the polish/flouride/etc? I have an upcoming dentist appointment (the first since I found out about my gluten problems) and I was wondering if I should call and ask?

You're not paranoid. :-)

If it goes in your mouth, definitely ask about it. Polish, flouride, tooth paste, floss. Most of the time, it'll be fine. A lot of dental pastes and such are gluten free now. It's usually the flavorings that would be a problem. I have heard from some - although haven't investigated this much myself - that a few of the flavored flosses could be an issue, as well.

Doesn't hurt to ask about their sterilization procedures, either. There are a number of autoclaves to sterilize dental equipment, but a few of them will actually not destroy any gluten that might remain after scrubbing down the tools, if there were any nicks in them for it to hide in. If the temp. gets up to 500 F or more, then it's fine.

Most autoclaves get that hot, these days, but a few of the older ones were 200-300F or so, and while that kills germs, it doesn't do anything to gluten.

Also, a few brand spanking new places use a UV sterilization procedure that kills all living cells, like germs, but again, doesn't do anything but make the gluten a little brighter for a while.

Overall, most celiacs are perfectly fine at the dentist as long as they check the products. Usually the office will have to call the company,though, so you're on the right track, thinking to call them ahead of time to check. :-)

[lovegrov]

As Shauna said, most of it is gluten-free anyway, but definitely ask. Ten years ago my dentist had to avoid using mint pumice, but even that has changed now.

richard

[SilverSlipper]

Our dentist told us last year that she had attended a conference where Celiac Disease was brought up. She wanted us to know that she uses only gluten free items (although most are already gluten free).

Having said that, my daughter went to the dentist on Monday and by that evening was throwing up with diarrhea and stomach cramps so bad she couldn't walk. She's still home from school today. We're not sure if she caught a stomach bug (unlikely since we usually all get them when they happen) or gluten from somewhere else (possible).

I was wondering if it somehow came from the dentist office so no, you're not paranoid. :)The best thing about this board (as I've come to find out) is that you can ask questions that you may be too embarrassed to ask elsewhere and receive a kind response.

[sleer]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm getting better at just asking the questions (initially I was embarrassed). But luckily my husband wasn't at all. he says it is amazing how much better I seem to feel since I've done away with the gluten.