Denture Cream and Neurological Disorders

Denture Creams, like Poligrip and Fixodent, have beenParesthesias: Spontaneous feelings of numbness,
causing serious health problems in many people.tingling, pinching, sharp, deep stabs, electric shocks, or
Denture creams contain zinc, and excessive exposurebuzzing in the arms and legs. Other types of
to zinc can lead to copper depletion, which whenparesthesias include feelings of cold, warmth, burning,
severe, can cause serious neurological disorders.itching, and skin crawling.
More than 35 million Americans use denture creams,
such as Poligrip and Fixodent, to keep their denturesDysesthesias: Unpleasant abnormal sensations that
in place. Yet the risk of denture cream zinc poisoningoccur when a patient touches something, or is
is virtually unknown. The Food & Drugexposed to some other type of stimulus. Patients
Administration (FDA) has not required thesuffering from this disorder may feel burning,
manufacturers of these products to warn users ofwetness, itching, electric shock, "pins and needles"
this danger. As a result, many people suffering fromand other uncomfortable sensations in their
neuropathy and other neurological problems areextremities, especially their hands and feet.
unaware that their symptoms are the result ofAnemia: A blood disorder that occurs when the level
poisonous zinc denture creams.of healthy red blood cells in the body becomes too
Denture cream zinc poisoning could affect tens oflow. Anemia can lead to serious health problems,
thousands of people. Because early treatment is vitalincluding fatigue and impaired bodily organs.
to reversing zinc poisoning, it is important thatBone Marrow Failure Syndromes: These diseases are
denture wearers educate themselves about this risk.disorders of the hematopoietic stem cells that can
Neuropathy is one of the most common results ofinvolve either one cell line or all of the cell lines
denture cream zinc poisoning. Neuropathy is a medical(erythroid for red cells, myeloid for white blood cells,
term describing disorders of the nerves of themegakaryocytic for platelets).
peripheral nervous system, Neuropathy can be aDenture cream zinc poisoning mimics many other
symptom or consequence of other diseases, likedisorders, and is often misdiagnosed. To correctly
diabetes and it can be a side effect of some drugs,diagnose denture cream zinc poisoning, the zinc and
like chemotherapy agents. It can also be the result ofcopper levels in a patient's blood must be tested.
nutritional deficiencies, such as the copper depletionMost often, if a patient with denture cream zinc
caused by denture cream zinc poisoning.poisoning is misdiagnosed, they are thought to have a
The symptoms of denture cream neuropathy include:demyelinating disease. These types of disorders
• tingling or numbness in the extremitiesinvolve destruction of the myelin sheath - the
• loss of ability to move legs, feet, arms, or handsprotective covering of the nerve cells. Some of the
• poor balance and coordinationdemyelinating diseases most often misdiagnosed in
• decrease in walking stridepatients with denture adhesive neuropathy include:
• abnormal blood pressure and heart rateMultiple Sclerosis: People with denture adhesive
• reduced ability to perspireneuropathy are often suspected to be suffering
• constipation and bladder dysfunction.from Multiple Sclerosis. This is not surprising, as
At its most severe, denture cream neuropathy canMultiple Sclerosis affects more than 400,000 people in
leave patients permanently disabled. That's why earlythe U.S. Many of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
detection of denture cream zinc poisoning is soare identical to those of zinc copper depletion. Multiple
important.sclerosis can be difficult to diagnose early in the
The evidence that zinc-containing denture creams cancourse of the disease, because symptoms often
cause neuropathy is growing. Researchers at thecome and go — sometimes disappearing for
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center inmonths.
Dallas recently found a very strong link betweenDemyelinating Syndrome: This syndrome is often
zinc-containing denture adhesives and neuropathy.associated with other diseases, such as lupus. Typical
Their study, published in a 2008 issue of the journalsymptoms include odd sensation in legs, arms, chest,
"Neurology" determined that neuropathy in fouror face, such as tingling or numbness, or weakness;
patients was likely caused by their exposure to zincblurriness or double vision; loss of dexterity; and
in these products.coordination problems.
The patients in the University of Texas study used
an average of two tubes of denture adhesive everyChronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
week. Normal blood levels of copper range from 0.75(CIDP): A rare neurological disorder in which there is
to 1.45 micrograms per milliliter (mL), but levels forswelling of nerve roots and destruction of the myelin
the patients in the report ranged from less than 0.1sheath over the nerves. This disorder causes
to 0.23 micrograms per mL. The top normal numberweakness, paralysis and/or impairment in motor
for zinc blood levels is 1.10 micrograms per mL, butfunction, especially of the arms and legs. Sensory loss
patients had levels ranging from 1.36 to 4.28may also be present causing numbness, tingling, or
micrograms per mL.prickling sensations. The motor and sensory
Unfortunately, the damage the patients suffered wasimpairments usually affect both sides of the body,
not easily reversed. To treat symptoms, one patientand the degree of severity may vary.
took copper supplements but didn't stop usingGuillain-Barré Syndrome: A disorder in which the
denture cream. His copper levels improved, but hisbody's immune system attacks part of the peripheral
zinc levels remained too high and he showed nonervous system. Early symptoms of this
improvement in his neurological symptoms. A seconddisorder-such as varying degrees of weakness or
patient, who took copper supplements and stoppedtingling sensations in the legs-are similar to those
using denture adhesive showed improvement incaused by zinc copper deficiency. In many instances
copper and zinc levels, but no improvement inthe weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the
neurological symptoms.arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase
Another patient's neurological symptoms includedin intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all.
weakness in the hands and poor balance, whileWhen severe, a patient may suffer life-threatening
another had weakness in her arms and legs thatparalysis.
made her wheelchair dependent, along with cognitiveThose most at risk for denture cream zinc poisoning
decline and urinary incontinence. These patientsare people who have used excessive amounts of
showed only "mild neurologic improvement" afterthese products for a long period of time. Many
they quit using denture adhesives and began takingdenture wearers use large amounts of adhesive to
copper supplements.keep ill-fitting dentures in place. But this is a
In addition to neuropathy, denture cream zincdangerous solution to the problem. Because of the
poisoning can cause a number of neurologicalrisk of denture cream zinc poisoning, it is much safer
problems. These include:to seek the help of a dentist so that dentures can
be properly fitted.