I have six porcelain fused to metal crowns. While I knew that they were PFM crowns, I assumed that the metals would be safe. Now I discover that mine is 40% palladium. I read on a biological website that palladium is a heavy metal that can poison your blood. Should I switch these out for zirconia and should the dentist cover the expense seeing as he knowingly gave me a toxic metal?
Karen
Dear Karen,
I think there are two bits of misinformation going on here. Let’s start with this biological website. I’m wondering if it is a natural news or health news site. I was struck by your question because I’ve never heard of a palladium toxicity except in science-fiction. For instance, Iron Man has an arc reactor with a palladium core. In the movie, the palladium is poisoning his blood. The website that told you that palladium is a heavy metal is either misinformed or just outright lied. Palladium is actually a precious metal that is fairly light. There is a compound, palladium chloride, that is toxic, but that is vastly different from the pure metal you will find in your dental crown.
I did a search for websites that claimed the things y ou mentioned. The one I found, which mentioned the dangers of palladium and calling it a heavy metal appears to have an ulterior motive. I found it interesting that this very same site said you could send in hair for a toxicity analysis…for a nice fee, of course. First, they panic you that you’re being poisoned and then they hit you with the sale.
All that being said about palladium being a precious metal and not toxic, does not mean that you cannot have an allergy or sensitivity to it. If you notice redness in the gums around the crowns accompanied with an itching or burning sensation there, you may have a sensitivity to the porcelain fused to metal crowns. There are more metals there than palladium. In that case, you may be better off switching to a zirconia crown. These are metal free. Some dentists don’t believe in allergies to these type of dental work. However, I have learned you can never say there are NO allergies to any substance, no matter how rare that allergy may be. The human body is too varied and unique.
If you happen to go to a dentist that doesn’t believe in these allergies and you fear you have one, my suggestion is to see a holistic dentist or a metal free dentist. They are much more willing to take patients seriously in these type of situations.
I hope this helps and puts your mind at ease.
This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.