I had two removable partial dentures put in a few years ago. I’ve been sick ever since getting them. Aside from feeling like I’d been hit by a truck, I also had developed sores in my mouth. My dentist kept referring me out to other people. Eventually, as the sores just would not go away I went to our local hospital. They sent me to an allergist who diagnosed me as being allergic to several metals. I can’t think of anything else that could be doing this other than the dentures. Do you have any recommendations for me?
Elisa
Dear Elisa,
I get very frustrated when dentists ignore allergies. These are very real and for some patients can be life threatening. A standard question on dental intake forms should be “Are you allergic to any metals?” You didn’t say what type of metals you are allergic to. One of the most common is nickel, which about 10% of women have an allergy to.
While some less expensive alloys contain nickel, most metallic removable partial dentures are made from an alloy called Vitallium. This particular alloy, is composed of chromium and cobalt. I don’t know if any of these are on your list.
These allergies you have can be the root cause to everything you are experiencing. Leaving them there puts you at risk and could even result in a severe reaction that closes up your throat. If your dentist is unable or unwilling to work around the metal allergies you have, then I would work on finding a different dentist. There are metal-free dentists who work hard to provide metal-free restorations. I suggest consulting with one of them and explaining your situation. They can help you to get the tooth replacement you need without putting you at risk with your allergies.
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