anyone cracked teeth on SSRI’s????
Okay I have cracked two teeth since being on Celexa. I just went to
the dentist today for the second tooth…I tell you I wonder if it is
the meds. I told my doctor that another person on Celexa had
mentioned this. He says I have bruxism. Where you grind your teeth. I
know I have always grinded, but since the Celexa it seems worse.
I wonder if Lexapro, being stronger would be even worse!
My dental bill is going up!!
By the way the dentist didn’t agree it was my meds. or the pharmacist
that I went over to after the Dental appt. The dentist said people on
these AD’s already have stress.
I asked to look at his teeth…which were great, no grinding. He said
he doesn’t have stress….yeah right….we all have stress!!
I felt kind of bad about this stereotype of people on AD’s being
stressed.
What do you all think?
dagmar
February 19th, 2003 at 12:08 am
Hi, Dagmar - I’ve never had cracked teeth, but I had heard *many*
people on the Celexa board complain of teeth-grinding and jaw-
clenching. It comes up too often for it to be a coincidence. I know
of one person who quit Celexa specifically because of this, and now
she no longer has the problem. You didn’t grind your teeth before
Celexa, right? You know me — I’m the first one to pooh-pooh a
dubious side effect, but I think there’s reason behind this
assumption.
I wouldn’t assume it would happen to you on Lexapro, but to be
truthful, I’m feeling a little grind-y myself this last week.
Lexapro does feel much stronger than Celexa to me, so I may be taking
too high a dose. You can get a mouth-guard device to wear at night
so that the grinding doesn’t do any damage, but that’s not an
especially appealing remedy to me. And some people do their grinding
during the day, too.
I wouldn’t pay any attention to your dentist on this subject; there’s
no reason for him to be knowledgeable on the side effects of
antidepressants. If I were you, I’d talk to the doctor who prescribed
Celexa to you before you make any decisions.
Gina
February 19th, 2003 at 4:53 pm
Interesting question. I hadn’t thought of Celexa as a possible cause. I did
have a root canal this past winter–my 1st. Dentist said I was grinding,
also. But hubby also had one and he is not on ADs.
I thought it was my pillow’s lack of support causing tension in my neck and
shoulder area and thus causing me to clench to try to regain position. I
went through a dozen pillows (down, poly, foam, heat foam–that supposedly
regains its shape) and crushed them all. Finally, I tried a buckwheat hull
pillow, and that one is working, because so far it hasn’t crushed. I no
longer wake up with sore shoulders and neck. I’ve also been mentally
training myself to keep my mouth open, which prevents the grinding.
Maybe the above will give you some ideas to try…
February 20th, 2003 at 2:08 pm
Dagmar,
Bruxism is a known and established side effect of SSRI use. There is
also a study done by the Mayo Clinic in treating SSRI-related
Bruxism. 4 patients with at least moderate Bruxism due to SSRI use
had Buspirone (Buspar) added to their SSRI. In all 4 cases, the
bruxism relented.
You may want to speak with your Dr. about this. I know you are taking
Xanax (which can be combined with Buspar) and may not want to add
another med. However, some people on the combination of an SSRI and
Buspar are able to drop the benzo, even though they couldn’t when
only on the SSRI, so there may be 2 benefits of trying this
combination.
Good luck.
Chris
February 21st, 2003 at 5:20 am
Hi Chris, I tell you, why did the pharmacist not know this? He went
and looked at the Celexa insert and came back and said “no it doesn’t
say anything about this side effect! I knew from our board that this
was something people have because people kept talking about it.
I will talk to my doctor about this. But why doesn’t xanax help the
bruxism? I mean is it not as strong as Buspar?
I am so glad you are on this board. You are so knowledgable. (Gina he
is your twin!!!~hope you are reading this…Gina….)
Chris are you thinking of changing to Lexapro? Just curious.
I will talk to my dr. when I see him about Lexapro. For now I am
staying tight on my Celexa.
I am seriously thinking of getting a nite guard for my teeth. But
they cost over $600. I have no dental insurance, so this is all out
of pocket. I think it is worth not cracking another tooth.
By the way,,, I did grind before Celexa. My teeth are totally ground
down….so this is a ongoing problem. But never cracking teeth,
before Celexa….
~dag
February 23rd, 2003 at 11:05 am
Yes, I’ve had several cracked teeth while taking SSRIs, the last two years
especially. I didn’t relate it to SSRI use, just stress and being a little
older, more wear and tear on the teeth. Interesting idea though…
Christie
christied@…
February 23rd, 2003 at 6:07 pm
Dagmar,
Unfortunately, most of the pharmacist’s knowledge is limited to the
insert, something you or I could do just as easily. These other side
effects that are seen in “real-life” such as abnormal dreams and
bruxism, tend to be overlooked until post-marketing of the drug. Here
are a couple of links you can print and show your Dr. The first is a
link to a persentation from the Dept. of Psychiatry at NYU:
http://www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/psychiatrist/aug/sld037.html
The second is a reprint of the article regarding the small study of
Buspirone in treating SSRI Bruxism (I believe the original was
reported in the New England Medical Journal):
http://hdlighthouse.org/see/care/bruxism.htm
Xanax may not relieve it because it is suspected to be caused by
overstimulation of certain brain receptors. Xanax does not affect
these receptors, but Buspar does, it really doesn’t have anything to
do with potency of the drug.
Right now I will stick with Celexa and have no plans to switch. I am
at about 2 weeks with 60mg, I want to stick with it for another 6-10
before considering a switch to Lexapro. Ultimately, a switch may be
due more to side effects at 60mg than efficacy of Celexa (annoying
insomnia, sexual sides).
Chris
February 24th, 2003 at 9:19 am
Thanks Chris. I wish you were my dentist!!
I tell you I am so tired of people saying you have stress!
I mean, hey, like I said, I see people way more stressed than me and
they don’t grind their teeth…
Can you tell me what this part in the top of one of the articles
meant:
“Some HD patients are troubled by teeth-grinding. This may be a side
effect of medication. –Jerry 01/15/99″
What are HD patients…what does it stand for?
Is it anxiety or depression?
~dagmar
February 25th, 2003 at 3:42 pm
Dagmar,
HD stands dfor Huntington’s Disease. It is an inherited physiological
condition in which the nerve cells of the brain progresively
deteriorate, and as a result, symptoms can include depression,
anxiety, and other psychiatric problems so these patients are often
also users of antidepressant medication. They lifted the article
from another site and posted it on a site for HD sufferers. The 4
patients included in the study were not HD patients, I believe they
were taking the meds for depression, but that really doesn’t matter,
no side effects are specific to certain conditions with
antidepressants.
Also bruxism, like other conditions, can be attributed to stress in
some instances, but frequently has no known cause, let your dentist
know that next time. Ask him if he ever had a headache, stomach
ache, felt fatigued. Any one of those could be stress or have
nothing to do with stress (e.g., a flu), so he should not make
assumptions.
Chris
February 25th, 2003 at 11:18 pm
Hi, yes, I have been grinding at night as well, on c. Don’t know yet
on lex. I haven’t cracked any teeth, but sometimes they are sore.
Karen
March 1st, 2003 at 4:50 am
Here’s more on the connection between SSRIs and bruxism. You’ll have to read
down a few paragraphs, but it’s there.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/findinformation/diseasesandconditions/invoke.cfm?i
d=DS00337