Personal Injury Law

Denture Cream linked to Zinc Poisoning

By Brian F. LaBovick, Esq.

Denture creams such as Super Poligrip and Fixodent may be causing Zinc poisoning in patients. The daily intake of Zinc as part of a normal diet, is 8mg (women) and 11 mg (men), while the daily intake for denture cream users can be an alarming 300mg. According to the National Academy of Sciences, 40mg per day constitutes Zinc poisoning. Symptoms of Zinc poisoning are: weakness in extremities, impaired sense of position, tingling, numbness, burning in extremities, and a feeling of gloves or socks on the hands and feet even when they are bare. Diagnoses related to Zinc poisoning include: Paresthesias, Dysesthesias, Copper Deficiency, Anemia, Bone Marrow Failure, Nueropathy, and Toxic Encephalopathy.

Denture cream manufacturers have done a good keeping this information from the public, by not listing ingredients of denture cream products on the packaging. One can only wonder if the manufacturers hiding this information purposefully? The FDA classifies Denture cream as a “class I dental device” under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which does not require the listing of ingredients. In their defense, GlaxoSmithKline issued the following statement, “When someone uses Super Poligrip for their dentures, the vast majority of the zinc in the product remains in the adhesive and is not released into the mouth. Thus the potential for absorption of zinc through the gums is minimal. Although it is expected that a small amount of Super Poligrip would be swallowed when used as directed, the amount of zinc that is released into the stomach and absorbed into the bloodstream is very small. Therefore, the possibility of experiencing adverse effects from exposure to zinc in Super Poligrip is highly unlikely when the product is used as directed.”

How can denture cream cause such adverse effects? Denture creams such as Poligrip and Fixodent contain Zinc as an odor blocker and bonding agent. Zinc from the denture cream can then be swallowed, or can be absorbed through the skin of the gums.

Although GlaxoSmithKline claims the product is safe, several cases have been made against the denture cream manufacturers since 2005. According to one FDA report at least one patient was diagnosed with toxic encephalopathy and peripheral neuropathy as a result of using Poligrip denture cream and the case was deemed as medically serious by GlaxoSmithKline.

With an estimated 35 million people using denture creams, doctors are beginning to wonder if the problem of Zinc poisoning is more widespread. If you are using denture cream and experiencing any of the symptoms of Zinc poisoning, contact your doctor immediately, your daily regimen may be dangerous to your health. 
 
Click here  to read more from the FDA on Denture Cream and Zinc poisoning.

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on February 24, 2009 (boomark / email).