Do I need calcium supplements?

[Marie45]

This may be a silly question, but should I be taking calcium supplements because of braces? I will ask my orthodontist at next appointment at end of February, but wondered if anyone could help before that. Thanks.

[ArchWired28]

Braces do not "suck" calcium of the teeth. In general, if you consume 3 or more servings of dairy per day, you should be OK on calcium. However, the best determinant of whether you are OK on calcium would be a blood test that your doctor can order. It is also important to take vitamin D because it helps make calcium bioavailable.
You can always take supplements, but it is important to remember that too much is as bad as not enough. If you do choose to take calcium, consult your physician (and not an ortho) first.

[Huggypillow]

This information pertains only to me, but i asked my ortho if i could and he said i could take a small dose but because we are closing gaps and moving teeth it will make my teeth harder to move.

I decided not to take them because i dont want anything to interfere with my treatment.

Again i asked him based on my circumstances, i thought i needed to as well.

Both my gp and ortho said if they thought i needed to they would tell me and they both said recently i dont need to take calicum.

Dr said to me pregnancy might be a different story, but again info given to me.

Speak to your orthodontist.

[benj]

Agree about the blood test. My time getting braced also coincided in a time I became interested in getting my vitamin levels optimized and my tooth (and general) health to be as good as it could be.

It makes sense, you are spending all this time and money perfecting one thing about your self and it can lead to wanting to make improvements in other areas as well. Have seen it a lot on this forum, that people who are concerned with their well-being want to take the time to sort their mouths out first and it sometimes becomes the first step to a total health makeover.

One thing that helped get my vitamin levels sorted out was by using "Applied Kinesiology" - that's muscle testing for vitamin/mineral deficiencies or allergies. It turned out I did not have low calcium like I thought, but was chronically low in magnesium and vitamin D. Now I use Applied Kinesiology for my vitamin levels almost every day and it really helped improve my gum tissue and enamel so much stronger and healthier .

[nikk87]

Hi :3 braces don't affect your calcium levels, althought they may weaken your enamel. Just make sure you drink lots of milk, and brush your teeth really well!! And like you said, talking to your ortho would be smart! Maybe even just call and ask the receptionist, if you don't wanna wait until end of feb. I'm on calcium supplements, but thats cuz i have a tendency to break bones easily x3 You should be fine, but it cant hurt to enjoy dairy xD