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toxic dental materials

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scarpia

Junior Member
Vermont

I've been having problems with dental material allergies in the past 5 years. A dentist sold me veneers with acrylic cement even though he knew I was allergic to acrylic. I only found out after my mouth started burning up. Then I had to file complaits to get him to remove the stuff. He finally did - over a year later. He charged me thousands more and did a really bad job on 4 of the 11 crowns that he replaced the veneers with. I called all the dental malpractice lawyers but they wouldn't take it. There was not enough damage and enough money to make. It wouldn't even cover the cost of filing the suit. I understand that. But now there's more to the story.

I went to another dentist to fix the last 4 crowns. I told him I wanted the Ivoclar InLine ceramic - the exact same materials that were in the 7 good crowns. I explained that I had been having allergic reactions to materials. He agreed to do that. But the crowns he put in tasted chalky. I wrote to Ivoclar. They called my dentist and he admitted to them that the crowns he gave me were another type made by 3M. I never did find out exactly what there were. The dentist then agreed to replace them with an Ivoclar product called emax. He told me it was virtually the same thing as InLine. It tastes terrible and irritates the tissues in my mouth. I found the name of the dentist's lab, but they will not give me a MSDS or any information. I asked the dentist to get it for me over a month ago but he hasn't gotten anything for me. I looked up emax and saw that it is a lithium discilate ceramic. I looked up lithium discilate ceramics and see articles in jounals that show lithium discilate ceramics are cytotoxic.

Like the last time there is not enough damage to file a malpractice suit. I am going to take both dentists to small claims court. But another issue is the cytotoxicity of these lithium discitale ceramics. They are being widely used. Do you think there is any chance of a class action lawsuit? I would think people would want this stuff removed from their mouths is they knew about it's toxicity. Many people are having amalgam fillings removed. That's a lot less expensive than having crowns replaced.
 


Dave1952

Senior Member
That you have such allergies is a nuisance and a challenge for your dentists. From your post I see that your first dentist used an acrylic cement which caused some (transient?) burning sensation. He removed and replaced the offending material. Did he do this at his expense? If so then he corrected the problem and you have been made whole. What will you sue him for? You do claim that you informed him of the acrylic allergy but I'm guessing that you made this claim to various attorneys who did not wish to assist you.
Your second dentist agreed, according to you, to use a particular material, an Ivoclar In-Line. He did not use this material. That he did substitute another material without informing you is inexcusable but, once again, it sounds as if he fixed the problem at his own expense(?). In quickly Googling I got the impression that Ivoclar In-Line is a family of products. If the particular material that you liked is no longer offered then you will need to go through more "trial and error" to find an acceptable material. This should be at your expense. Since your previous dentist used a lab with the Ivoclar that you liked perhaps you can go back as a patient or find this lab for your new dentist.
I'm unconvinced that there is any reason, as yet, for a class action suit against lithium dissilicates. Cytotoxicity studies demonstrate that if these materials did get into the cytoplasm of cells, there would be problems. Do these materials get into the cytoplasm of the cells in your mouth? Are there a lot of complaints from dental clients? You can certainly discuss a class action suit but unless you have a lot of angry customers I doubt you'll interest an attorney.

Good luck
 

scarpia

Junior Member
The first dentist did NOT fix the problem. He took the acrylic out of my mouth but he put some horrible crowns in. 7 of them were good but he ruined 4 of them by shaving away at the back of them. He charged me $10,000 for that work.

The other dentist did not fix the problem. He lied a second time and told me the emax ceramic was the same as the InLine. It's not even close. It irritates my tongue and it tastes terrible. Now I have to find another dentist who used a lab that works with InLine. That is going to cost me $5,000.

No one has been informed that these lithium disclilates have show toxicity in studies. Here's a conclusion from a journal of dental materials: " Our results suggest that lithium disilicates are not biologically inert, and that many have a similar cytotoxicity dynamic regardless of small differences in composition or processing." Drug companies have to list possible side effects of their medications. Shouldn't consumers be warned that their dental materials may be toxic?

I just looked this up: "Neither the ADA nor any American dentists are currently under a specific duty to inform patients of potential hazards of amalgam fillings, or to offer patients an option of available alternative materials. No affirmative duty will exist without state or federal legislation or without a resolution from a judicial proceeding." Looks like that would be true for the toxic lithium discilate materials too.
 
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Dave1952

Senior Member
If neither dentist did correct the problems at their expense then you may wish to discuss your problem with a few attorneys who work in medical malpractice and offer a free initial consult. During the initial consult decide whether the attorney sounds familiar with dental problems. Also decide whether you trust the guy to get the job done. Based on the amounts that you have spent You may have trouble finding someone to work on a contingency basis.
I remain unconvinced that there are grounds for a class action suit at this time. While I think that you are wasting your time at present, it's your time. I'd suggest finding a nearby University with a medical, school, dental school, or toxicology program. Look at the faculty, find some prof with an interest that's close to your problem. See if the prof will talk to you and recommend how to research the issue of toxic reactions to dental materials. If, after you've done your library research, the prof thinks there might be something wrong with the lithium disilicate product then you may wish to look for a lawyer.

Good luck
 
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barry1817

Senior Member
dental

The first dentist did NOT fix the problem. He took the acrylic out of my mouth but he put some horrible crowns in. 7 of them were good but he ruined 4 of them by shaving away at the back of them. He charged me $10,000 for that work.

The other dentist did not fix the problem. He lied a second time and told me the emax ceramic was the same as the InLine. It's not even close. It irritates my tongue and it tastes terrible. Now I have to find another dentist who used a lab that works with InLine. That is going to cost me $5,000.

No one has been informed that these lithium disclilates have show toxicity in studies. Here's a conclusion from a journal of dental materials: " Our results suggest that lithium disilicates are not biologically inert, and that many have a similar cytotoxicity dynamic regardless of small differences in composition or processing." Drug companies have to list possible side effects of their medications. Shouldn't consumers be warned that their dental materials may be toxic?

I just looked this up: "Neither the ADA nor any American dentists are currently under a specific duty to inform patients of potential hazards of amalgam fillings, or to offer patients an option of available alternative materials. No affirmative duty will exist without state or federal legislation or without a resolution from a judicial proceeding." Looks like that would be true for the toxic lithium discilate materials too.
In Ca. dentists are supposed to provide to patients a material fact sheet which is supposed to list the materials and the pluses and minuses.

You might want to call you state dental board about this issue and see if they have mandated a material fact sheet for patients, and if they had--then you may have an issue if you weren't given that prior to treatment.

Again, you are finding out, that in dentistry, the costs for treatment, and the harm that can be done, doesn't seem to rise to the level that with problems, a lawyer would take a case. Such is the blessing and the curse.
 

scarpia

Junior Member
CA seems to have more progressive laws. Here they can put what they want in your mouth and then give you a hard time about telling you what it is. The lab people are the one's who know how the crowns are made and exactly what's in them. And most dentists here use labs from out of state. I've also read that many states don't regulate the labs in any way. I think I will write to my representatives and lobby for stronger laws. I know that won't be easy. It's been impossible to even get mercury amalgam banned.

Regulatory boards don't do much in VT. There have been cases of doctors doing unnessesary surgeries and even molesting patients, but the board did nohing until a criminal charge was proven. I went to the board of dental examiners about the first dentist. I figured they would at least slap him on the wrist and make him do some more training in doing crowns and bites. He ruined 4 perfectly good crowns by shaving away at the back of them. Another dentist I went to who saw what happened didn't bother to wrte it in the chart and then said he couldn't remember when I filed the complaint. They waited 18 months and then dropped it, concluding he had done nothing wrong.

That's why people start sites like mybaddentist.com. I have also given this guy very bad reviews on other sites like ratemd.
 

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