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Question:
Dental Materials Allergies: My wife had a full upper bridge placed in her mouth about 4 months ago.
Within a week she started experiencing itching and burning in her gums. A couple of lumps have also developed in her gums and the tip of her tongue burns. She also has a strong metallic taste in her mouth.
Benidryl relieves these symptoms for a few hours. We have tried to find dentists, allergist, etc. in the Tallahassee area to test for allergies but no one seems to have a clue. ... Visitor from FL
Answer:
It is not uncommon for individuals to have metal allergies.
For instance there are people who cannot wear jewelry with metals other than gold or other high noble metal. A common metal allergen is nickel. I doubt that your wife has nickel in the metal used to make her bridge; but I would investigate that as an option.
On the other hand I have come across a situation of a patient who was actually allergic to the palladium, which is a metal, in a recent crown that she had placed. Once we removed the crown her symptoms subsided.
There is good chance that palladium is part of the metal framework of her bridge. I would contact a dermatologist or an allergist and do a skin patch test to see if she has a reaction to palladium or any of the other metals used in that bridge.
If the answer is yes, she has to have that bridge replaced with an all ceramic alternative. It is certainly not a common situation and most people do not know if they are allergic to those metals. Dentists do not test patients.
Maybe it is something that should be considered. One other remote possibility is to test the cement used to place the bridge. I rather doubt that the cement would be the problem.
Burning mouth and tongue could also be indicative of a fungal infection such as candidiasis or thrush. This can occur when antibiotics are taken which can alter the natural bacterial flora of the mouth.
Bacteria are diminished in quantity and that allows other organisms to flourish. You might want to have your dentist or physician prescribe Nystatin or other antifungal agent to see if that has any effect.
Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist
Mitchell Pohl, DDS
2900 N. Military Trail, Suite 105
Boca Raton Florida FL 33431
(561) 368-3440
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