Originally Posted by Bryanna

Hi humarock,

The health issue concerning the zinc in the denture adhesives shoud be a concern for anyone who uses it in their dentures or partial dentures. For one thing, you don't have to eat the product to ingest the zinc. The mouth is one of the most vascular areas of the body and the zinc as well as the other ingredients are being absorbed through the oral tissue the entire time it is being worn. Because most people use the adhesive on a daily basis, the amount of zinc is building up in the brain and elsewhere with each application in the denture. Secondly, people are of the assumption that these products are harmless because they don't associate the term "oral adhesive" like they would "glue" or "cement". Thirdly, oral adhesives can be very difficult to remove from the palate and sometimes have to be scraped off. Often the amount left behind ends up ingested. Unfortunately, most dentists do not warn patients about overusing it and they don't properly instruct patients on how to use it.

The least amount that is effective should be used. It is important to experiment with it and understand that less is best. Also, remove as much as possible when you remove the denture. Don't leave any pieces anyplace in the mouth. And as you said, do the research and try the adhesives without the zinc.

With regard to the dental community doing research on this...... the conventional practices are mostly unaware of the problem and continue to recommend it to their patients without proper instruction. One reason for this is because these adhesives are endorsed by the big dental organizations irrelevant of the toxicity of them.......just like root canals, just like mercury fillings...... unfortunately.

It sounds like you had a rough start with your new dentures but are adapting to them pretty well! It will get easier as time goes on..... :-)

Bryanna