BCAA = Sensitive Teeth?

Raekwon

I've been using ON BCAA 5000 Power for around a month now and I've noticed that my bottom molars have become extremely sensitive and it's become really painful to chew certain foods.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I did a quick Google search but nothing relevant come up apart from this.

I'm afraid that drinking BCAA powder mixed with water before and after training could be stripping enamel off my teeth.

I work out 3/4 times per week by the way.

colman1212

Would be very surprised if it is from BCAA's.
Do oil pulling with coconut oil - may help with the sensitive side of things.

But most of all, go see a dentist!!

DAINGNE

Why are you taking BCAAs may I ask?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

BCAA do not cause sensitive teeth, gum disease causes sensitive teeth and certain bacteria in your mouth. If your on a very restrictive diet your immune system may be down causing some gum problems, but the most likely thing is that it is unrelated as gum problems are relatively common regardless of diet etc.

Best get a full checkup with a dentist.

Raekwon

I actually had a dental checkup 6 months ago and brush twice a day plus use Listerine so I doubt my lower teeth on both sides have suddenly become sensitive as a result of gum disease especially since this only started after drinking BCAA powder.

I'll go for another checkup though just to be on the safe side.

DAINGNE wrote: »

Why are you taking BCAAs may I ask?

I take branched-chain amino acids to improve my exercise performance and reduce protein and muscle breakdown during and after my sessions at the gym. They also help to combat fatigue and maintain focus while I'm training.

The benefits of BCAA are well documented:

Supplementing with BCAA's can result in measurable gains in both strength and muscularity. Taking branch chain amino acid before and during a work out will increase performance and delay fatigue. Since your body can not manufacture BCAA's, they must be supplied through your diet. These amino acids are needed for the maintenance of muscle tissue during physical stress and intense exercise. From the perspective of athletes, BCAA's function as anabolic agents, which allow the body to burn fat and not muscle. Therefore, branch chain amino acids are crucial in your quest for muscle growth.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

peoples teeth get sensitive suddenly all the time, there has to be a time where they get sensitive when before they were not. Post hoc ergo propter hoc BCAA are just food, sensitivity is caused by gum problems, recession or decay.

siochain

are there sweeteners in the formula?

Raekwon

Yes, it contains sucralose (artificial sweetener), 1g of sugar, natural & artificial flavours and colours, citric acid, malic acid, inulin, lecithin and silicon dioxide.

I've done some more reading on body building forums and other people have experienced sensitive teeth after drinking BCAA powder mixed with water also.

Someone actually suggested drinking it with a straw or to add baking soda to the mix to try and balance the pH level as it's very acidic.

I think I'll just finish of the tub I have and try the capsule version next.

Gummy Panda

Raekwon wrote: »

Yes, it contains sucralose (artificial sweetener), 1g of sugar, natural & artificial flavours and colours, citric acid, malic acid, inulin, lecithin and silicon dioxide.

I've done some more reading on body building forums and other people have experienced sensitive teeth after drinking BCAA powder mixed with water also.

Someone actually suggested drinking it with a straw or to add baking soda to the mix to try and balance the pH level as it's very acidic.

I think I'll just finish of the tub I have and try the capsule version next.

I experienced it with xtend. Lower teeth became sensitive.

Raekwon

Gummy Panda wrote: »

I experienced it with xtend. Lower teeth became sensitive.

Did you continue to use it?

I haven't used it for the last couple of sessions and I ate toast this morning without feeling any sensitivity at all so it's too much of a coincidence not to be the BCAA's.

The only other time my teeth feel sensitive like that is after drinking a few Red Bull's.

househero

You can get BCAA in caps or get your own capping kit to put the rest of your powder in to your self.

But I have not experienced or heard of amino acids causing sensitive teeth.

Gummy Panda

Raekwon wrote: »

Gummy Panda wrote: »

I experienced it with xtend. Lower teeth became sensitive.

Did you continue to use it?

I haven't used it for the last couple of sessions and I ate toast this morning without feeling any sensitivity at all so it's too much of a coincidence not to be the BCAA's.

The only other time my teeth feel sensitive like that is after drinking a few Red Bull's.

I finished the tub off. It was only with orange cooler flavour and people said they experienced the same on bb.com. changed to sour lemon & lime and had no issues

Raekwon

Gummy Panda wrote: »

I finished the tub off. It was only with orange cooler flavour and people said they experienced the same on bb.com. changed to sour lemon & lime and had no issues

That's interesting because I'm using the orange flavoured ON version.

AMT

Congratulations... You're most likey getting your wisdom teeth

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I have done some research on this topic and stand by my previous posts.

Do BCAA's cause sensitive teeth - no
Can BCAA aggravate sensitivity in people with an underlying problem - yes

The issue here is two things, underlying conditions and the acid in the BCAA. I am talking about liquid or powder forms as the tablets don't cause issues in the mouth.

Acidity of BCAA - yes they can be acidic in solution with water. There are protonated and deprotonated types, the deprotonated types are basic (not acidic). Even the acidic ones are pretty weak acids. Organic acids are always weak and they generally have a ph of 6 or above. Thats a weak acid, citric acid is around 5. Acid can cause problems with teeth. Dietry acids cause dissolution of the minerals in teeth. This happens slowly, and your saliva has protein and minerals in it to remineralise this microscopic damage. Remineralisation needs time, so frequency is key. Taking any acid very frequently is bad for the teeth as the balance of the demineralization/remineralisation cycle is in favor of demineralization. This is why coke, diet coke etc is bad...very low ph and can cause tooth surface loss. Generally if your taking in acids in one go and not all day your fine.

Underlying conditions - if you have exposed dentine (the part of teeth under the outer enamel and the bit with the nerves) you can get sensitivity to hot and cold. This exposed dentine is caused by:
1. Gum recession
2. Dental Decay (caries)
3. Acid erosion (very severe erosion)
4. Gum disease / periodontal disease.
Acid erosion generally takes years to happen, even with 5 ltrs of coke a day, so starting BCAA is not going to cause sensitivity unless you have one of the above problems already.

What should you do. Go to a good dentist. The dentist will check your teeth, X-ray them (thats really important, a check up without X-rays is not worth much) and clean them. If you have decay you may need a filling, gum disease needs more attention etc....

In closing BCAA are acidic but dietary acids in the short to medium term do not cause sensitivity, however acids in the short term will aggregate teeth that have a problem already. I would recommend not regularly taking in liquid acids especially if your sipping it over the course of a 2 hours workout. Take tablets. Go to the dentist. Sensitivity toothpaste masks the cause, you need to treat the cause if possible, this could be an early warning of something that could get worse.