Non-sweet hypo treatment?

[Drlamb23]

Maybe I’m missing something but one thing that gets me down is having to treat hypos with sugary things…my teeth feel horrible and I’m sure it’s not great for me anyway =(
So does anyone have anyone have ideas for non-sugary sugar (ha!)…or at least ways of not feeling like I’m destroying my teeth every time? Thanks

 

[Tdm]

Mmm...you could use a straw on fruit juice so it doesn't touch your teeth?

 

[helli]

To treat a hypo, you need fast acting carbs and that means sugar. If you are concerned by your teeth, drink water afterwards (I read that cleaning your teeth immediately after eating or drinking something sugary will brush the sugar into them).
After 20 years of diabetes with a fair amount of hypos, I have needed no fillings. My teeth are fine so it may be a perception rather than reality.
Better still, try to work out what is causing your hypos and make some changes to your diabetes management to reduce them. Look for trends. Do a basal test. Review your carb counting. ...

 

[rebrascora]

Mmm...you could use a straw on fruit juice so it doesn't touch your teeth?

Part of the speed of absorption of hypo treatment is through the cells in the mouth so to me drinking the likes of fruit juice with a straw is going to negate part of the benefit ie. the speed of treatment.

You need glucose to raise your BG levels rapidly when you are hypo and hypos are more dangerous than rotten teeth I am afraid. The best I can offer is to swill your mouth with water after you have eaten or drank your appropriate treatment and your levels have come back up.

 

[Inka]

Maybe I’m missing something but one thing that gets me down is having to treat hypos with sugary things…my teeth feel horrible and I’m sure it’s not great for me anyway =(
So does anyone have anyone have ideas for non-sugary sugar (ha!)…or at least ways of not feeling like I’m destroying my teeth every time? Thanks

Hypo treatments must contain sugar/glucose. That’s the whole point of them. Unless you feel like injecting some glucose into a vein (joke! Do not ever try this!), then the oral route is the only way. Just try to minimise the number of hypos you have and rinse your mouth with water afterwards.

I was told that the best treatment dental-wise was glucose tablets or liquids. Fruit juice and Coke are both high in acids and can damage tooth enamel. So I limit Coke use to hypos where I’m falling fast and use Dextro tablets most of the time.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Perhaps look for things which are lower in acids, and less ‘sticky’?

For teeth protection, choosing something less obviously sweet (but still rapid acting) would probably be worse for your teeth if that thing hung around for longer.

I think QI once suggested that one of the most teeth-damaging snacks was crisps, because of the way they stuck to your teeth, and were then able to be converted to acids in the mouth over a much longer period.

How about using sugar-free gum afterwards to help reset the mouth?

 

[Thebearcametoo]

It depends how low you are. Milk is a reasonable hypo treatment for a mild hypo as it’s liquid but the fat slows down the absorption/conversion of the sugars. I wouldn’t use it for a low hypo. We’ve used it to stave off hypos a lot late at night or if they hypo is around 3.8/3.9 but it helps that one of us can get it from the fridge for him so he’s not having to move around to get it.

If you can’t suspend basal then don’t forget to have your 15g of slower acting carbs after you’re stable again. Something like crackers aren’t sweet but aren’t necessarily going to leave your mouth feeling great afterwards. Just have a cup of tea or something with them.