Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Open wide
Living with epilepsy often means living with recurrent dental injuries or oral side effects from medication. And a trip to the dentist comes at a price. Here we look at some of the issues surrounding seizures and teeth while Dr Guy Hollis gives his top tips for dental healthcare.
When Louise Bolotin from Manchester transferred to a new dentist, she couldn’t believe her luck. ‘For the first time ever I had found a dentist who completely “gets” epilepsy,’ she explains. ‘With my previous dentists, as soon as I mentioned the word “epilepsy” you could see the fear in their eyes as they worried they were going to get their fingers bitten off if I had a seizure in the dental chair.
‘On top of that, I had lived with 10 years of constant plaque which I had been trying to manage myself in between appointments. It was only when I saw my new dentist that he explained the plaque could be all part of problems caused by my anti-epileptic drugs.’
Dental injuries
Louise’s story is not unusual. The unpredictable nature of seizures combined with side effects from some medications can add to the long-term impact of epilepsy. Issues range from experiences in the dental chair to gum disease, broken or lost teeth and the stigma associated with dental injuries.
Research has shown epileptic seizures to be the most common medical incident in the dental surgery – stress is often a trigger for seizures. Dental injuries rate as the third most common non-fatal seizure related injury after head injuries and burns and scalds. And dental treatment – unless you are on means-tested benefits – is not free for people with epilepsy. Prices can range from £17 for a check up to £204 for dentures, crowns and bridges.
Read more in Epilepsy Review
You can read more about epilepsy and seizures, in the latest issue of Epilepsy Review. And you can read Dr Guy Hollis' top tips for dental care.
For £13.50 (incl p&p) you can subscribe to Epilepsy Review for a year and receive three copies of the magazine. (You can order your subscription through the online shop.)
Or why not join one of our membership schemes and receive the magazine for free.
