I have chemical sensitivities. My husband recently had dental implants placed in his lower jaw. His dentist used the metal type of implants. He has the temporary acrylic dentures fitted to them but will be soon having the permanent ones. I am thinking he needs to switch to the metal-free ones before the permanent dentures are placed because I am certain there is some type of chemical reaction going on in his mouth. His breath smells like rubber all the time and I have a hard time sleeping next to him as a result. This can’t be good for our health. His dentist thinks I’m being ridiculous but I’m thinking it has more to do with the fact that he doesn’t want to admit he should have used metal-free implants to begin with knowing my chemical sensitivity, which I made clear to him in the beginning. What can I say that will convince him he is wrong?
Tiffany
Dear Tiffany,
You mentioned his mouth smelled like rubber and it was causing you problems. Aside from the smell, are you having any reaction? Is he? Because titanium dental implants have been used for decades, we have a great deal of data on them. Titanium itself, though metal, is inert. This means it will not have a smell. I bet if you asked your husband’s dentist to allow you to smell one, he would. They are also extraordinarily biocompatible. While it is never wise to say no one has a reaction to them, it would be incredibly rare.
While I do not doubt there is an unpleasant odor, it probably has more to do with his dentures than his dental implants. The first thing I would look into is whether or not there is food and other bacteria getting trapped around or in his dentures. He may need to use something like a WaterPik to help him get everything out of there. This would be the safest and least invasive thing to try.
Why You Don’t Want to Remove Dental Implants Prematurely
If his dental implants are removed, they will take some bone structure with them. This means in order to get the zirconia implants you want him to get he will need some bone grafting done. After that has healed, he will have to have yet another surgery to place the new implants. That is three additional (and unecessary) surgeries. Plus, there is no guarantee that his second implant procedure will succeed.
I wouldn’t risk a successful case unless I had to.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.