One of the most frequent questions asked concerns the selection of dental materials. It is a question that is not easy to answer. The reason being that each of us are uniquely biochemical. A dental material that we think is great may in fact be the incorrect material for you causing you to experience adverse reactions to it. This of course presents the same type of dilemma for your dentist.

If you have allergies, or have multiple chemical sensitivities, the situation is even more critical. The bottom line question then becomes "what dental material is the most suitable for me and will afford me the least potential of experiencing any adverse reactions to it?"

The most scientific approach to the problem available at this time is to have your own blood serum tested in a medical laboratory to see which dental materials if any, it reacts to. This is called a material reactivity test. Clifford Consulting & Research, Inc. has been in the forefront of developing and perfecting this type of testing for the dental profession. Using qualitative antigen-antibody precipitin observations, it is possible to detect the presence of antibodies in the serum which have been specifically formed against such chemical groups as acrylates, urethanes, toluenes, nickel, aluminum, mercury, etc. A small quantity of a challenge material is mixed with a sample patient serum and observed for the formation of an immune complex.

This type of testing is over 100 years old and is commonly used in many laboratory tests today to detect exposure to microbial and toxic entities. Antibodies for a chemical component may have originated with intake of food and water or with various environmental exposures. Thus, not every problem is the result of medical or dental intervention. However, once you have been sensitized to a particular chemical component, any further exposures from any source including dental or medical materials can be hazardous to health, when your immune system triggers an immediate response to the reappearance of an offending material. What is unique about the application of "dental" serum reactivity testing is that your serum is evaluated against over 1400 dental trade-name products, divided into 23 application categories, with indications for each item whether it is suitable or not suitable for you. This provides you and your dentist with intelligent options for the selection of suitable materials to be used in your mouth to complete the required dental work.

It is not a total solution to all problems you may encounter such as electrogalvanism (electrical current being generated by dissimilar metals immersed in electrolytic fluid, i.e. your saliva) or the necessity to evaluate whether the materials selected will provide the mechanical performance required such as strength and durability. However, from a health standpoint, it is perhaps the most important consideration.

To give you some idea of the scope of reactivity to dental materials, Clifford Consulting & Research, Inc. has compiled the reactivity percentages to various groups of materials derived from 12,823 serum specimens submitted for testing: Nickel Salts Group 97.9%; Mercury Salts Group 92.7%; Copper Salts Group 32.1%; Gold Salts Group 00.6%; Bis-GMA Group 00.2%; Acrylates Group 00.8%, etc.

If you desire more information or your dentist would like to obtain testing kits from Clifford Consulting & Research, Inc. call (719) 550-0008, Fax (719) 550-0009.

There are other facilities doing this type of reactivity testing and information on them can be obtained by a simple search of the internet.

Also make sure to read these books: Poison in Your Teeth: Mercury Amalgam (Silver) Fillings...Hazardous to Your Health! and Mercury Detoxification by Tom McGuire