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>On the subject of teeth, I discussed this with my dentist at my last
>visit.  He said you would be able to see the striations in the tooth if
>a person was deprived of calcium.  It seems to me this would be more
>true if a person was totally deprived of calcium.  Isn't it possible to
>have a deficiency of calcium and not have the obvious visual sign?  For
>example, if a child went for a month or two absorbing no calcium (I
>believe there would be a darker line in the tooth) and then went a
>month or two absorbing calcium (a lighter line in the tooth).  What if
>the child had a steady, constant deficiency of calcium?  Perhaps the
>tooth would look normal but isn't as strong and hard as someone who
>absorbs sufficient amounts of calcium all the time.
>
>Also he said once the tooth is formed, it does not lose calcium from
>the tooth as bones do.  Just wondering about this.
 
I have to strongly disagree with your dentist.  While it would certainly be
true that major calcium loss would show striations in teeth, you have to
consider how  a small loss of dentin might affect tooth decay.
 
My own case history regarding tooth decay is a interesting.  I am now 42
years old.  Until two years ago, I had had only one filled cavity in my
adult teeth and none in my baby teeth.  The summer before last I went to a
dentist for a check up(My habit was to go once every four or five years.  My
teeth also do not need to be cleaned.  The never build up any plaque.).  My
teeth were x-rayed and five surface cavities (unusual) were found.  Given my
previous dental, I had doubts about the finding and went to another dentist.
He confirmed the diagnosis.  He also told me that this was unusual for a
person he who eats well and brushses regularly. He suggested that some
physiological changes had occurred in my body although, he had no idea what
those changes were. Nine months later, I was diagnosed with CD. In
retrospection I now believe that I have had CD for 10 to 15 years, possibly
longer.
 
I have been on a strict GF diet for nearly a year, have gained 40 pounds,
and feel 1000 times better.  My last check up was perfect.  This calcium
thing is complicated.  I can also tell you that a GF diet alone is not the
answer.  Some of the absorption mechanism may not return in all cases.
Additional work need to be done in this area.  I am of the opiion that I
have suffered severe bone problems. In the past couple of months I have been
hearing and feeling *clicking* in the  joints and tendons  in my arms,  and
a couple of weeks ago it started in my left hip.
 
Now that the holidays are over,  I plan to go back to my GI doc and try to
find out what is going on.  Hopefully it can be corrected.
 
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Cliff Kotchka
Riverside, Illinois
 
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