Can These Dentures Be Salvaged?

I have complete dentures made and I am happy with how they look and feel. I seem to have an allergy to them though. When I started wearing them, the allergy symptoms began pretty much right away. The first day I had swollen glands and swelling/irritation of the eyes. By the second day, I felt sick. On the third day my throat stated swelling and I had a bit of difficulty breathing. I took some benadryl and that helped a little. I waited a bit and then tried again with the same results only it got worse more quickly than before. I really like these dentures so wasn’t quite ready to give up on them. Unfortunately, when I tried the third time, the symptoms came on even more quickly and it scared me. Is there any way to salvage these dentures? I was quite pleased wtih them and worry the next set won’t be as great.

Penny

Dear Penny,

You definitely have an allergy to these dentures. I’m glad the Benadryl worked for you. These type of allergies should not be messed around with. They can turn life-threatening quite quickly. I would stop wearing the dentures completely until you find out what the offending material is. You can find this out by seeing an allergist. There is still a chance these can be salvaged. My guess is that you are allergic to the unreacted monomer in the dentures. If your denture is made of acrylic, like most are, the acrylic starts in liquid form. The dentist will cause a chemical reaction, which turns the monomer into a polymer as it hardens.

In this chemical reaction, there is some leftover monomer. If this is what you are allergic to than there is a procedure that can help to turn the leftower monomer into a polymer. If your dentist is unfamiliar with that, than you can show him or her this documentation which will help them. Basically, what this boils down to is submerging the denture extremely hot water for several hours.

If that doesn’t work, you may have to have the denture remade, but this time with a different material. Acrylic is not the only thing you can make a denture with. Your first step is seeing that allergist though.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.

Should I Give Up Holistic Care for Competence?

I am a bit frustrated. I feel like I am left to choose between getting the holistic care I want and competence in that care. We only have one holistic dentist in our town. I wanted to replace two things. First, a metal based crown for an all-porcelain one. Second, a mercury-filled filling for a composite one. My previous dentist didn’t believe that they needed exchanging. So, I found the holistic one and she was willing. Unfortunately, she used this new machine called a CEREC to make my crown while I waited. The crown I had before, though metal based, was comfortable and fit well. The one she made hurt and was too big for the area. I went back and she sanded it down to try to get it to fit the area. This changed the rest of my bite somehow and everything is off. She’s now telling me my problem is I need rothodontics. That would cost $6000…all for a crown not placed properly. I don’t know what to do.

Daria

Dear Daria,

I’m sorry this happened to you. First, let’s talk about your options. Holistic dentistry isn’t a specialty. It is a philosophy of care, which entails considering your whole body during treatment and not just your teeth. They are more likely to work around metal sensitivities that you have and will know how to do a sanitary amalgam removal. There are plenty of dentists who will adhere to this type of treatment without offically calling themselves a holistic dentist. If you do an internet serach for a mercury-free dentist or a metal-free dentist, you can probably find someone with that same philosophy. You are not stuck with the one declared holistic dentist in your area.

As for your dental crown, it sounds to me like your dentist didn’t not know how to use the CEREC machine. When the right information is input into the program, you actually end up with better fitting crowns because they are precicely milled by a computer. It sounds to me like what you were dealing with is a dental competence issue more than a CEREC issue.

If your bite wasn’t off before the dental crown but is after, that means she did something wrong. I would ask for x-rays from before your procedure and after, then take them to another dentist to look over. At the very least, you should get a refund for the crown. However, if she’s thrown off your bite than the repairs could be expensive. In that case, she bears some of the responsibility in covering that expense.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.