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Question:
I'm a 59 year old white professional in reasonably good health, 140 lbs., 5'6" who smokes. I had my top teeth removed in 10/02 and had a full plate installed immediately. The teeth were relined in March 03. Less than two weeks later, my palate was burning.
The dentist said no allergy and adjusted them continuously until May when I insisted that the reline be completely removed. The burning sensation lessened considerably but didn't go away completely. I got a new top plate made in June 03 and they also burned a little. We started adjusting them and the burning sensation increased, still no signs of an allergic reaction.
I have not been wearing them continuously since Oct. Early Oct., I saw my allergist - I have allergy to dust, mold, dander and am lactose intolerant - He said I had no signs of an allergic reaction but he didn't test me for allergy to methyl methacrylate-he thought the problem was the fit of the plate.
In Nov., I began experiencing brief equilibrium problems and severe burning. This increased in Dec. until now I have numbing of the face, arms, and left leg if I try to wear the plate; Benadryl allergy caplets relieve the symptoms after a several hours but I am left with flu-like symptoms for a long time.
My M.D. does not think that I am allergic either; I had a series of blood tests taken on 1/5 and a chest Xray and brain MRI on 1/7 and will not know the results until 1/16 at my M.D. appointment. I've been calling all over trying to get tested for allergy to methyl methacrylate to no avail.
In the meantime, even tho I'm using Boost/Ensure and forcing myself to eat, I'm losing weight rapidly. My dentist will not do anything until someone determines that I'm allergic or the Dr. finds out what is going on.....I'm worried that my M.D. will not be able to diagnosis
these symptoms. ...Visitor from PA
Answer:
You do have a very tough problem.
The first thing that I would think about is are you close to a major medical
center? If so I would go to an allergist. I know one here in Birmingham but
I do not know one near you. If you see an allergist you can rule out whether
or not you have an allergy problem. There is a way for him to test the
denture material and see if that is truly the problem.
One piece of advice I would give you that I believe you really need to
consider is to quit smoking. This has a large impact at times in many
areas.
I would also advise you to stop any gum chewing of gum if you do chew gum
and to stop any cinnamon or spicy things into your mouth. You need to remove
any irritants from your mouth that you can at all.
One question to ask is do you have any pain or burning when the denture is
out and stays out for a while? That may or may not be helpful . But it may
guide the future decision making.
You may be in a situation to look at having some implants placed and have
some way to keep any pressure off the palate.. But that is not something to
try to do tomorrow... I would want to know where the problem is coming from
before I started any new things in your mouth.
Have you had a Prosthodontist look at you? That is a dentist who specializes
in making prosthetic devices. That might be a good idea.
It is possible to have some equilibrium problems that can be traced back to
the bite relationships... But without seeing you that is impossible to
evaluate.
James Sanderson, DMD
Alabama Teeth In An Hour
Alabama Sedation Dentist
1633 Montgomery Highway
Birmingham, AL 35216
(205) 979-6005
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