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I had dentures made a few weeks ago. They fit wonderfully, but I’m afraid I may be allergic to them. On my first day wearing them, I had some itching. The longer the day went on, the more of a reaction I started having. My cheek and eyes started swelling. I took them out and took some Benadryl. The symptoms subsided. I tried again a few days later with the same results. When my throat started to swell, I became afraid. I haven’t worn them and I’m back to normal again. It really seems like I am allergic to this denture. What do I do if that is the case?
Sandy
Dear Sandy,
It certainly does look like you are allergic to something related to your dentures. I’m glad you’ve stopped wearing them. I’m going to recommend that you continue to stop wearing them until this is resolved. Allergic reactions can turn life threatening. Your throat swelling is an indication that yours could be one of those.
Your first step is to go to an allergist and determine what you are allergic to. One likely culprit is the unreacted monomer left in your dentures. Denture bases are often made of acrylic. When it is first formed, it starts as a liquid. From there a chemical reaction will lead to it hardening. This transforms the monomer to the polymer. However, there is always some leftover monomer. It’s possible you are allergic to that.
There is a solution for that. The National Library of Medicine has done some research which shows that by immersing the denture in very hot water for several hours, you can convert the unreacted monomer to a polymer.
You could also have the denture remade with a different resin for the base. There are several options for these. The only downside is that you will have to have the denture remade.
A Warning About Completely Removable Dentures
I hope your dentist warned you about facial collapse with long term wear of removable dangers. Once your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that you no longer have teeth roots in your jawbone that need to be supported. Because of that it begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body in order to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources.
This has the unfortunate side effect of slowly shrinking your jawbone. While your upper denture is held in by suction, your lower denture simply rests on your lower jawbone. After ten or so years, depending on how fast your body resorbs the minerals, you will not have enough of your jawbone left to keep your lower dentures in.
The solution to this is to get implant supported dentures. This puts dental implants in your jawbone which will signal to your body that you have teeth and need to keep those minerals. Then, after the bone in your jawbone integrates with the implants, your dentist can anchor your dentures to them. You will not have to worry about facial collapse in that case.
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentist Dr. John Theriot.