I have a sensitivity to chemicals and am having a reaction to my husband’s dental implants. I believe it is because he has the metal implants. I want him to get the zirconia ones. Whenever he gets close to me, all I can smell is rubber. Right now he has the post screws and temporary acrylic dentures. The porcelain dentures are in the process of being made. I think his body is reacting to the metal, which is causing the smell. This cannot be good for either of us. My husband is not keen on the idea of switching them out and when I spoke to his dentist about it, he blew off my concerns. Is there anything you can tell me that can convince them to switch these?

Deanna

Dear Deanna,

 

I am sure you are smelling something, however, I do not think it is from the dental implants. Here is why. The metal in traditional dental implants is titanium. This is a very inert metal that would not even have a smell out in the open. With the implants, they are buried into his bone, so it is even less likely that you would be able to smell anything.

If there is a bad smell the culprit is more likely to be that your husband is having trouble getting the acrylic dentures clean. If food or debris are getting caught in his dentures then it would create a rather unpleasant odor. He could try using something like a WaterPik to help clean out all the debris.

Why You Don’t Want to Unnecessarily Switch Out Dental Implants

When dental implants are removed, bone structure comes with it. This means that he will need to have new bone placed in order to retain any further implants. After the bone grafting has time to heal, then there will need to be ANOTHER surgery to place the zirconia implants. That adds up to three additional surgeries that are not necessary, all of which have a risk of failing. Right now, he has a successful implant case. It is not worth risking unless something is wrong.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentist Dr. Alan Yount.