Abstract.
Data on the prevalence of adverse effects from dental cast alloys and on the characteristics of the related patient groups are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate patients in a defined part of Germany attributing oral complaints or symptoms to dental cast alloys. All dentists in the area of Eastern Bavaria (with 1 million inhabitants) were asked to send corresponding patients to our department during a 3-year period. Out of this collection, patients with complaints or symptoms in the oral cavity were recruited and characterized with regard to number, age and sex distribution, type of subjective complaints and objective intraoral symptoms, and allergy status based on an alloy analysis. Patients reporting to our department with suspected local adverse effects from dental cast alloys represented 0.01% of the population. Thirty-four percent of the patients were 50–59 years old, with females prevailing (76%). A great variety of subjective complaints was reported, which mainly resembles those reported by patients with adverse effects attributed to other dental materials like amalgam or denture base materials. The main objective intraoral symptoms were gingivitis, anomalies of the tongue (lingua plicata, lingua geographica), discoloration of the gingiva, redness of the palate or tongue and lichenoid reactions of the oral mucosa. In not more than 10% of the patients, allergy was diagnosed as contributing to the complaints or symptoms.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Electronic Publication
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Garhammer, P., Schmalz, G., Hiller, KA. et al. Patients with local adverse effects from dental alloys: frequency, complaints, symptoms, allergy. Clin Oral Invest 5, 240–249 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007840100127
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007840100127