I'm so thankful to have made the move to a place that really is the last bastion for outdoorsmen. I absolutely love Alaska and I can't imagine ever leaving.
That said, there's a downside:
My dad turns 70 years old in 6 weeks and he's never had a cavity. Our family on my dad's side have crazy strong teeth. Most of my family on my dad's side is in the same boat with healthy teeth and no cavities. We're blessed with strong teeth. I'm 41 years old and until now, I'd never had a cavity. Until now...
I noticed something was off in my teeth this past year and got an appointment this past week with a dentist. I had 6 cavities. He told me that the kind of cavities that I had, 4 of 6 of them anyways in the front, not on the business end of the teeth, was from decalcification and told me I needed to go on a calcium supplement.
It's the sun (or lack thereof).
I have a very good diet high in meat and vegetables. I get a fair amount of calcium in my diet and eat a fair amount of tums because I eat a lot of spicy foods. My Vitamin D levels though, have been low and even though I supplemented them starting a year ago, they didn't come up to normal with 2000 units per day and my teeth are rotting because of it. (Vitamin D is instrumental in absorbing calcium from the gut)
I'm now taking 5000 units per day of Vit D and 600mg of elemental calcium twice daily on the recommendation of my doctor and dentist and my Vit D lvls are finally normal.
My job is emergency medicine and I see a lot of xrays - on a daily basis in fact. After 7 years in practice in California, then coming to Alaska, I am continually amazed at how thin people's bones are up here compared with California.
I recommend all residents of AK consider this. It sucks to take pills, but it's just vitamins. It'll help your teeth and possibly prevent fractures later in life.
The whisky comment, not the bone and teeth issues!
