| Vitamin C seems to help my possible gum disease! |
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Tuesday, June 21st, 2016 10:07:20 GMT |
| Health |
(Since this post is about health-related topics, here's my site's disclaimer.
Also, even though it's probably obvious, I should probably point out I'm not a health care professional of any kind - just a layperson who sometimes takes an interest in the topic of health.)
However, sometimes, the soreness totally went away, so I didn't know what to make of that.
But I had so much pain at times that I was afraid I had at least one cavity.
But the cavities were so small that when I got them filled in March, I didn't even need to be numbed with novocaine!
Nonetheless, I expected that after that, at least my worst sore spot would hopefully go away.
But, to my surprise, it remained (though it continued to be sporadic, just as before). Even despite my usually assiduous (but gentle) brushing, flossing, and using an oral irrigator soon after every meal or tea.
But I remembered that back in 2013, a hygienist had told me I'm starting to get gum disease. However, no one ever brought that up again on subsequent visits to the dentist, so I assumed maybe my gum disease had gone away by then, thanks to all my brushing, flossing, and irrigating.
But, since my soreness wasn't solved by my fillings, I had to reconsider the possibility that maybe I still had gum disease.
I'm not 100% sure it's gum disease since I didn't ask my dentist recently, but, from what I read on the web, I think it's quite possible.
And, happily, it really seems to work! Ever since I started taking it a couple months ago, I usually don't have soreness at all now.
And I'm pretty sure it's the Vitamin C which is helping me, because the soreness comes back within a day if I stop taking it.
I figured out that for me, it seems to work best if I take 2 Vitamin C's soon after I wake up.
I also often take a Nature Made "Stress B" vitamin (which also contains Vitamin C and zinc) sometime around either lunch or dinner, but I can get by with just the 2 Vitamin C's soon after I wake up.
Once, I tried taking 4 Vitamin C's in a single day, which seemed to do me no harm, but, since 2 work well enough, and I'd rather save money, I just take 2 Vitamin C's per day now, plus usually the Nature Made "Stress B".
However, some skeptics consider that quackery.
I'm not sure what to think. But I think I'm maybe more inclined to believe Linus Pauling, the Nobel prize winner, than his critics, since I don't know if any of his critics are equally renowned.
And from my own experience, it seems like Vitamin C has really helped me.
But I'm not really qualified to judge.
Astonishingly, one page I read said that half of American adults suffer from periodontal disease - with even higher percentages in some populations:
I wonder what is the cause of that? Is it possible that all these gum disease sufferers are simply deficient in Vitamin C?
No idea, but I sure hope something can be done to cure gum disease. Even Vitamin C doesn't seem like a perfect cure, because I have to keep taking it or my soreness comes back.
But, happily, it definitely seems to help me more than just brushing, flossing, and using an oral irrigator alone without taking Vitamin C.
It seems to work so well for me that I can forget I even (possibly) have gum disease. And that's good enough for me. :-)
I think Vitamin C has done (and continues to do) my gums more good than anything else I tried, so, I'm definitely going to keep taking it.
But, since this page says "vitamin C can be metabolized to oxalate" - if I ever decide to increase the amount of Vitamin C I take, I'm going to try to figure out how to minimize any possible problems resulting from possibly increased oxalates. (That same page suggests Vitamin B6.)
Several months ago, I was increasingly worried about my teeth. I had some sore spots which frequently (or sometimes) bled when I flossed around them, and using an oral irrigator on one of those spots was also often very painful.
So, in February, I finally saw the dentist. It turned out I had several very small cavities, including near my worst sore spot.
On Medicaid, I only get 1 free checkup every 6 months, so I actually didn't go back to the dentist to try to find out what was still wrong.
Happily, I found out that Vitamin C might be a highly effective way of dealing with gum disease. Here's the web page that inspired me to try it:
So, I got a big Rite-Aid brand bottle of 500 mg Vitamin C non-chewable tablets for a remarkably low price, under $10 I think. (And it was actually buy 1, get 1 free!)
First, I tried taking just one 500mg Vitamin C, which seemed to help a little. Then, I tried taking more at different times in my so-called schedule.
Interestingly, I read that the famous scientist Linus Pauling believed that it's good to take large doses of Vitamin C.
Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences, in case it might help others.
Addition, Aug. 13, 2016, 10:30 PM EDT. Here's a new blog post by me which mentions Vitamin C: