Judy Foreman

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Can TUMS damage teeth?

March 16, 2004 by

Probably not. TUMS are made of calcium carbonate in chewable form, notes Dr. Michael F. Holick, director of the bone health care clinic at Boston University Medical Center. As such, TUMS are a good source of calcium, particularly for people who don’t make enough stomach acid, because the calcium in TUMS is easily absorbed by the body.

TUMS are a bit “gritty,” notes Holick, “but there’s no evidence that this damages teeth. It’s probably more cleansing than damaging to teeth. I have had lots of patients on TUMS without complaints.” Calcium carbonate is basically ground-up oyster shells, which accounts for the grittiness, adds Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics.

Dr. Sadru Kabani, director of oral and maxillofacial pathology at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine, mostly agrees, saying he could find no mention of adverse effects from TUMS on teeth in the American Dental Association Guide to Dental Therapeutics. The grittiness of TUMS, however, could in theory be abrasive to teeth, he says. And the calcium in TUMS may bind to certain antibiotics such as tetracycline, perhaps making them less effective. But the only potential dental problem linked to TUMS, he says, would be cavities because TUMS contain sugar.

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