Metal Mouth Message Board

Okay, I don't want to be a worry-monger, but I can't tell if my ongoing headaches and sore throat and insomnia are just part of the normal breaking-in period for braces or something else.

I did however come across a very chilling discussion thread chronicling various cases of metal poisoning from braces: http://forums.wrongdiagnosis.com/showthread.php?t=17972

Apparently the Nickel in metal braces can cause everything from ADHD to amnesia to extreme weight loss and blackouts. Page 2 has a post from a man whose daughter nearly died from metal toxicity which was proven by a hair sample test.

OMG! Can this really happen???

I think the only way the nickel can cause an allergic reaction, is if you are allergic to it int he first place. All jewelry has nickel, and if you are allergic to it, you will get severe rashes, even if the thing just comes in contact with your skin.

I think your best bet is having blood work done, to check, and talk to your ortho and ask about this particular situations. I honestly think it is very rare that braces can cause this much damage, because otherwise, well it would be mentioned by law to anyone who wants to get braces.

MetalNerd wrote:Okay, I don't want to be a worry-monger, but I can't tell if my ongoing headaches and sore throat and insomnia are just part of the normal breaking-in period for braces or something else.

I did however come across a very chilling discussion thread chronicling various cases of metal poisoning from braces: http://forums.wrongdiagnosis.com/showthread.php?t=17972

Apparently the Nickel in metal braces can cause everything from ADHD to amnesia to extreme weight loss and blackouts. Page 2 has a post from a man whose daughter nearly died from metal toxicity which was proven by a hair sample test.

OMG! Can this really happen???

Those symptoms might not be an allergy to the metal, but could be due to the TMJ. They are symptoms of TMJ dysfunction. If the orthodontist is not taking the TMJ function and condyle position into consideration with the treatment, it can affect the TMJ and result in those symptoms. A functional orthodontist would take the TMJ into consideration.
When I had orthodontics as a child, it caused ear aches and a sore throat which at the time I thought was due to a metal allergy. But a few years after the orthodontics I started to get TMJ dysfunction. So I am now having functional orthodontics to correct my TMJ dysfunction, and this time it is improving my ear aches and sore throat, since it is helping my TMJ. So now I realise it wasn't an allergy to the metal when I had the orthodontics done before.

I for one can see how metal poisoning can happen.. not from first hand experience though but I won't be surprised if I have elevated amounts in my body. I didn't think of it, actually, when I got the braces b/c I just thought the s/s wires/ties/coils wouldn't harm me.. I didn't think of it having nickel, for one. Now I'm glad that I got ceramic braces, however now I am concerned about the retainers I will have to wear for the rest of my life. What to do??

VA5 wrote:I for one can see how metal poisoning can happen.. not from first hand experience though but I won't be surprised if I have elevated amounts in my body. I didn't think of it, actually, when I got the braces b/c I just thought the s/s wires/ties/coils wouldn't harm me.. I didn't think of it having nickel, for one. Now I'm glad that I got ceramic braces, however now I am concerned about the retainers I will have to wear for the rest of my life. What to do??

I would say, don't panic!

Firstly: The brackets and the wire in a hawley retainer are usually made from stainless steel. This may contain some nickel, but not high amounts of it. Some of the other componants may be higher in nickel content, arch-wires are commonly nickel-titanium for example (my lower one is at the moment) but you still don't need to panic unless you start having allergic reactions.

Secondly: People's braces and retainers don't generally dissolve... so the amount you are going to consume is really quite small. (I did manage to become the first of my orthodontist's patients to manage to rust their retaining wire, but I'm just special )

Thirdly: Although nickel is technically a heavy-metal it doesn't cause problems in small amounts unless you have an allergy to it. Copper and silver are also heavy metals (I know a silversmith and he has blue scars on his hands from getting silver-dust in cuts) but people don't think twice about wearing jewellery made of these metals; like with nickel, they're only really likely to cause you harm in the case of allergies (as with nickel) or if you're somehow consuming/inhaling them in a powder form. I believe people actually need a small amount of copper in their diet.

If you really wanted to avoid all contact with all metals that have some kind of toxicity it would completely take over your life. No using water from copper pipes, a very limited diet, no vaccines, no foil, no food in cans, no cutlery, the list goes on.

Some people have severe sensitivities to these chemicals, but they're in the minority. I for one have a chemical sensitivity to certain halogens (chlorine and bromine in particular). I can't even walk past a swimming pool without going dizzy, getting red, streaming eyes, breathing difficulties and an awful headache ; but that doesn't mean swimming pools should be banned.

sarahorsomeone wrote:

VA5 wrote:I for one can see how metal poisoning can happen.. not from first hand experience though but I won't be surprised if I have elevated amounts in my body. I didn't think of it, actually, when I got the braces b/c I just thought the s/s wires/ties/coils wouldn't harm me.. I didn't think of it having nickel, for one. Now I'm glad that I got ceramic braces, however now I am concerned about the retainers I will have to wear for the rest of my life. What to do??

I would say, don't panic!

Firstly: The brackets and the wire in a hawley retainer are usually made from stainless steel. This may contain some nickel, but not high amounts of it. Some of the other componants may be higher in nickel content, arch-wires are commonly nickel-titanium for example (my lower one is at the moment) but you still don't need to panic unless you start having allergic reactions.

Secondly: People's braces and retainers don't generally dissolve... so the amount you are going to consume is really quite small. (I did manage to become the first of my orthodontist's patients to manage to rust their retaining wire, but I'm just special )

Thirdly: Although nickel is technically a heavy-metal it doesn't cause problems in small amounts unless you have an allergy to it. Copper and silver are also heavy metals (I know a silversmith and he has blue scars on his hands from getting silver-dust in cuts) but people don't think twice about wearing jewellery made of these metals; like with nickel, they're only really likely to cause you harm in the case of allergies (as with nickel) or if you're somehow consuming/inhaling them in a powder form. I believe people actually need a small amount of copper in their diet.

If you really wanted to avoid all contact with all metals that have some kind of toxicity it would completely take over your life. No using water from copper pipes, a very limited diet, no vaccines, no foil, no food in cans, no cutlery, the list goes on.

Some people have severe sensitivities to these chemicals, but they're in the minority. I for one have a chemical sensitivity to certain halogens (chlorine and bromine in particular). I can't even walk past a swimming pool without going dizzy, getting red, streaming eyes, breathing difficulties and an awful headache ; but that doesn't mean swimming pools should be banned.

Thanks. the thing is, I am definitely a little on the more wary side where metal and other things are concerned. I avoid vaccines as much as possible, I try not to use foil (if it's not touching the food then it's okay), and I avoid food in cans as much as I can too (I make my own baked beans for example.. no more canned beans!). I don't avoid cutlery b/c it's not like it's sitting in your mouth 24 hours a day. I don't think there is enough exposure to my food and mouth to leach anywhere. So, you can kind of see how I think and how I might be worried. I just never considered the s/s had nickel in it, silly me. Well the good news is I don't exhibit obvious allergies but I think it might be time for me to hit the sauna to get those metals out of my body.

VA5 wrote:I for one can see how metal poisoning can happen.. not from first hand experience though but I won't be surprised if I have elevated amounts in my body. I didn't think of it, actually, when I got the braces b/c I just thought the s/s wires/ties/coils wouldn't harm me.. I didn't think of it having nickel, for one. Now I'm glad that I got ceramic braces, however now I am concerned about the retainers I will have to wear for the rest of my life. What to do??

You can get the Essix retainers, there is no wire with those.

drgnchsr36 wrote:

VA5 wrote:I for one can see how metal poisoning can happen.. not from first hand experience though but I won't be surprised if I have elevated amounts in my body. I didn't think of it, actually, when I got the braces b/c I just thought the s/s wires/ties/coils wouldn't harm me.. I didn't think of it having nickel, for one. Now I'm glad that I got ceramic braces, however now I am concerned about the retainers I will have to wear for the rest of my life. What to do??

You can get the Essix retainers, there is no wire with those.

That's worse, lol.. it's plastic. Plastic most definitely leaches into your body.

The Hawley retainers are usually plastic and wire.

sarahorsomeone wrote:The Hawley retainers are usually plastic and wire.

Yeah I know... but, if I get the hawley, then I'll only wear it at night, and it's only on part of it, not the entire appliance (like the essix). Sometimes you gotta find the lesser of all evils. It's hard not to avoid entirely in this world, which is why I most definitely don't live in a bubble.

I think eventually I'll just have my permanent retainer in 24 hours a day, and no hawley, so it'd be a temporary thing anyways, too.

If you are at all concerned about the nickel in your braces, talk to your Ortho about it. There are nickel free brackets and wires. I have a nickel allergy and my Ortho was able to order special brackets for me.

I'm allergic to metal like jewlery and belt buckles and I have full metal braces. At first I was worried that I would have an allergic reaction but so far so good, and I've been braced for 3 weeks. My expierence has been normal, some soreness and raw cheeks. I would still talk to your ortho I just thought this might ease your worrries Thanks good luck everyone =)

Metal poisoning can and does happen. You're confusing nickle allergy with nickle poisoning.
Blood test showed my son had a nickle level of 28 in his blood - the allowable limit is .7. He was dying from this. It was a fluke that someone mentioned he could be allergic, and our doctor at Stanford's Lucille Packard Children's Hospital agreed that toxicology experts said no way, but that's what it was. He was absorbing the nickle. Unable to eat, severe stomach pain when you do eat, weight loss. It was horrible. We are fortunate he is alive. His system super-absorbs.

KCS wrote:Metal poisoning can and does happen. You're confusing nickle allergy with nickle poisoning.
Blood test showed my son had a nickle level of 28 in his blood - the allowable limit is .7. He was dying from this. It was a fluke that someone mentioned he could be allergic, and our doctor at Stanford's Lucille Packard Children's Hospital agreed that toxicology experts said no way, but that's what it was. He was absorbing the nickle. Unable to eat, severe stomach pain when you do eat, weight loss. It was horrible. We are fortunate he is alive. His system super-absorbs.

Just curious, is he deficient in a specific enzyme or something? I've read about people who get sick because their bodies either don't make enough of (or too much of) an enzyme or protein or whatever, causing deficiency or overload of certain things.

sarahorsomeone wrote:The Hawley retainers are usually plastic and wire.

Actually, it's acrylic and wire.