I’m not sure what to do. I’d been having serious problems with eczema and pain. I ended up getting tested and it turns out I have multiple allergies to a variety of dental materials. What we know so far is I’m allergic to cobalt, chromium, dental cement, formaldehyde, titanium, and more than a few chemicals. My dentist doesn’t seem to want to deal with them and says he’s not even sure the test is accurate. Is there a dentist who specializes in these types of allergies who can help me?
Miyuki
Dear Miyuki,
There isn’t a dental specialty that focuses on allergies. You are in a really tough spot. It’s made even tougher by dentists who have the same attitude as your current dentist. The allergy tests can be controversial. Some dentists just won’t listen to them even if their patients have obvious allergy symptoms.
What you need is a dentist who is willing to work around your allergies and sensitivities. You’ll have more success finding one if you look for a holistic dentist. Holistic dentists consider the whole body in the course of treatemnt and not just your teeth. Unfortunately, this isn’t a specialty, but you can often find them by doing a search using one of the following terms:
- Holistic Dentist
- Natural Dentist
- Biological Dentist
If you can’t find one through an internet search, you’ll be stuck just calling around. Explain your situation and see what they propose. There are always options. Some are obvious. You can have a mercury-free composite filling instead of an amalgam filling.
For dental crowns, there are metal-free substitutes. For instance, you can use all-porcelain crowns on your front teeth. Unfortunately, these aren’t strong enough to hold up to the biting forces of your back teeth. That used to mean you had to have metal-based crowns. Not any more. Now we have the option of zirconia crowns, but not many dentists are using them yet. Zirconia is so strong it has been dubbed ceramic steel.
The point is, there are solutions. You just need a dentist willing to put forth the effort to find them.
This blog is brought to you by Des Moines Dentist Dr. Phelan Thomas.