Anyone knows about a connection between dental disease and dry/inflamed eye?

[ringo]

Hi all,

My mum has been diagnosed with paradonthosis ( i don't know if i spelt that right), its a gum inflammatory disease which progressively destroys one's gums. She has been prescribed Doxycycline to control the inflammation.

Recently she has also noticed her eyes getting very dry and inflamed, so she got diagnosed with dry eye as well...her dentist seems to think there is a connection between dental disease and eye problems, but she could not explain it well to me over the phone from overseas.

Dentist also attributes negative effects on eyes by certain kinds of dental fillings, although i could not understand which type he is referring to.

Myself I see that a bit far fetched, but noticed that gum inflammation is controlled by Doxycycline, just like eye inflammation.

Anyone has any info on a connection between dental disease and dry eyes?

[calli66]

Sjogren's, because the salivary and tear glands are affected. The saliva may be scant, and probably not normal in composition, the bacteria proliferate in the mouth and cause major tooth decay---I don't know about the gums, but gum problems can go along with tooth decay. I suppose taking an antibiotic would kill off some of the oral bacteria and maybe improve things by reducing inflammation (just guessing).

Calli

[ringo]

Thanks Calli,

You are right about Sjogren's, it is another example of how dental and eye conditions are related.

But in addition to that, after speaking to the dentist mum seems to think her problems with the eyes started as a result of the inflammatory disease of the gums, which is not Sjogren's.

After speaking to her again, she told me the doctor also said that "amalgam" fillings (not sure of spelling), the ones that have mercury in them, may cause eye inflammation and even autoimmune disorders. I am researching this on the net, as I do have one of these fillings from a long time ago.

There is not much info published, so I will appreciate if anyone knows of any dental disease causing problems with eyes besides Sjogren's.