4th Adjustment today...and MUCH worse: ANGULAR CHEILITIS

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#1 Post by **diande** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:07 pm

I had my fourth adjustment today. The Ortho left the same upper rectangular arch wire that I got the last time, changed the ligs, and then gave me my first rectangular arch wire on the bottom. It hurts.

I enjoy having braces, but there has been moments of pain and discomfort, nights of teeth grindings, teeth that don't meet, challenges with chewing...but nothing more disgusting than my latest complication - only somewhat related to braces.

Seems I discovered a little too late (today) that the severe dry lips and cracking at the lip corners and bleeding that I would wake up too, were more than just a severe case of dry lips. This did puzzle me since I'm a 24/7 user of lip balm. I thought it was just the effect of all the mouth washes and Listerine toothpaste etc and it seems that these, along with the other stuff, resulted in this condition which is called Cheilitis.

I had dramatic relief when I switched from regular lip balm (mainly only petrolatum) to Blistex medicated lip balm and was on the speedy road to wonderful lips again when 2 days ago I used my sister's not very clean lipstick brush and gloss and it seems that whatever brand of stuff it was on the already susceptible lip, led to a contact allergy.

Now my lips, top and bottom, are covered with the appearance of a fine rash - which isnt actually on the lip but somehow beneath the skin. They feel grainy and are only emphasised by gloss and the like. It is really hideous!

To make matters worse, I have an appointment at the dentist tomorrow. I cannot cancel after having been in waiting for a year to see this particular guy (had interim fillings and check up done elsewhere), and I want to have my 'deep cleaning' done. I don't want to gross the guy out, even though this is not contagious!

Just venting, but have any of you had any weird complications like this?

#2 Post by **diande** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:49 am

Thank you all for the well wishes. My dentist's secretary called a little while ago to advise me that he isn't feeling well and would like to know if I could push back the appointment till next week or go with the other dentist who works at their office. I opted to wait till next Thursday...I am so happy!

Right now, I'm putting a 1% hydrocortisone cream on top of a thin layer of miconazole cream on my lips. I should do this 2 - 3 times per day. In between I'll use lip balm if I need to. I'll let you all know what happens. Right now, I'm afraid of ingesting any of this stuff just from having saliva moving in my mouth when talking etc...No fun

#3 Post by **pippy** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:00 pm

Diande you have my sympathy!! I wondered what the hell was going on with my lips after my second adjustment - no matter what I put on them they were cracked, itchy and just plain horrible...chemists didn't know what to give me (at one point they had me using stuff for lactating mothers cracked nipples

) but that didn't work either! Found the Blistex stuff nice for a wee while as a relief but then more drying.....the thing eventually went away after about 10 days and hasn't come back since - hope you get rid of it soon as we really don't need sore lips on top of sore teeth!

Am hitting adjustment 4 on Monday and just like you getting the rectangular wire on bottom, having got it on top last adjustment I can't say I'm looking forward to it....plus the poor old back molars will be naked no longer as they get banded....bleurgh!!

Let us know if the stuff you are using works - I want a plan for if it comes back lol.......not keen on asking for more cracked nipple cream lol

#4 Post by **joney** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:29 pm

My daughter suffers from this when she eats particular brands of yogurt and every now and again a new food will make it flare up again. She hates it but it usually disappears after a few days. Hope it clears up soon.

Regards
Joney

#5 Post by **diande** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:49 pm

Pippy, asking for cracked nipple cream, that is hilarious

I can just imagine. Just asking for my over the counter Hydrocortisone was weird, I was wondering if the pharmacist, who was looking at me intently, was trying to figure out or going to ask what it was for. LOL. And about my teeth, you're right, my teeth are SORE. I haven't been able to have solid foods (when apart from swallowing rice and everything whole) since the adjustment yesterday. Also, for the absolute first time since getting braces, I used a painkiller this morning. The rectangular wire is definitely doing something different! I look forward to reading your 4th adjustment update too!

Joney, I hope your daughter learns what not to put near her mouth as these lip probs are terrible and can make you so self-conscious. I don't think she has Angular Cheilitis (what I have right now) but yes it does seem to be some sort of contact allergy or other type of oral candidiasis.

I found a good article from a medical journal that I'll post if I can find it back.

#6 Post by **diande** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:33 pm

Found that link:

http://www.mmcpub.com/pdf/2000jph/20000 ... 9n5p31.pdf

#7 Post by **Lisa65** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:34 am

That sounds really nasty, Diande!
I hope it soon clears up

#8 Post by **pippy** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:41 pm

Adjust 4 over and done.....and owww. Banding the 7's was gross, getting the new fat wire into the newly banded 7's was great fun.....I'm sure he thinks my head is one of those fliptop ones from the dental hygiene ads!! The ouchies hit about 3 hours after the adjust.......I just crept off to bed and left the family to dinner

Really sore - kinda just looked at the toothbrush and thought you've got to be kidding. Just as well I cancelled my 6monthly dentist apptmt - it was supposed to be today - yikes.

as to the chelitis, I now think I know what is setting mine off, coz its back. Am allergic to ortho...lol...well his gloves anyway. He swears there is no latex in them but there's obviously something else in there......lips are back to falling off and had rash on face where he was using my jaw as leverage to 'slide' wires in. SLide - ha! So now I have to bug them again and ask them to make sure there is no latex and can he please use different gloves again - its bad enough coming out of an adjustment with new gear...don't need leper lips and a rash to match lol.

Hope your teeth and lips are in a happier place!

#9 Post by **Rickysa** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:01 am

Yep, the powder can be an irritant.

Angular Cheilitis: I used to get this all the time, and we have bunches of patients that will come in with the cracks in the corner of the mouth.

I'll tell you what works for me, and what I recommend.....B-Complex vitamins

No kidding...

You can usually tell just before the sore appears (the corner of the mouth will become quite sensitive)...take a couple of B-Complex vitamins and it knocks it right out

Culturing the area generally yields Candida, but it seems that is an opportunistic infection...

We had a nutritionist give a class during dental school, and she mentioned that a B-complex deficiency could manifest by cracks in the corner of the mouth...I tried it and it worked.

Give it a shot.

Dr. S

#10 Post by **joney** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:09 pm

B vitamins were prescribed for my daughter previously, they even did a blood test to see if she had any deficiencies or was anaemic but she was fine (thank goodness). Sometimes as I said it is caused by certain foods and she knows to avoid them, but sometimes the cause is a mystery.

#11 Post by **diande** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:22 pm

It's been about a month since I've been here. I just got very occupied with that lip rash-evolving-into-other-things problem. I wasn't even inspired to give my usual monthly update about my 5th adjustment (8th Feb)

The stuff I had been using appeared to be working. But then I stopped because I didn't want to be using that stuff too long and it flared back up.

Not only that, but the rash seemed to have moved to just outside the lip but all around my mouth. I never expected to go through so many phases with this thing and up to the weekend before last, it was such an ugly site to awake with painful, tight lips and cracked corners and a dandruff-y look all around my lip, that I spent a 4 day weekend recently doing my best to stay away from people. That was not fun.

However, God is awesome

I was just inspired to take a break from using all the Listering toothpaste and Alcoholic mouthwashes and there has been WOW-improvement. I also found an aloe plant in the garden and started just rubbing a bit of the natural gel from inside the leaf on my lips before bedtime. The thing is almost gone/not noticeable!!! A complete turnaround, if I ever saw one...Thus I have been inspired to do this update.

Oh, thanks Dr. for the advice on B-Complex. Will add that to my treatment as of tomorrow Dios mediante.

Thanks all!!!

p.s. Things went great at my 5th Adjustment...Ortho started midline correction!!! I'm also only 9 days away from the 6th adjustment, the estimated half-way mark!