I had two zirconia crowns placed. Since then I have had some complications, specifically with a burning throat and a dry tongue. I worried I had an allergy to zirconia but my dentist insists there are no allergies to zirconia. Since then I have been to see two different ENTs. The first one only ruled acid reflux and then was out of ideas. The second thinks it may be burning mouth syndrome but gave no suggestion as to what caused it. This is my second dental procedure that has gone horribly wrong. Even though I know I need more dental work, I’m hesitant to get it done. Any advice you have is welcome. I’m in a bit of depression over this and I feel myself spiraling.
Patricia
Dear Patricia,
There are a couple of things going on here. First, your dentist is oversimplifying things. It is naive to say there are NO zirconia allergies. While there are no confirmed zirconia allergies, there are people who develop some extraordinarily rare ones. I don’t discount things outright without doing some research.
Second, given the descriptions you provided of your symptoms, I tend to agree with your second ENT dentist that you have burning mouth syndrome.
Symptoms of Burning Mouth Syndrome
Symptoms of burning mouth syndrome may include:
- A burning or scalding sensation that most commonly affects your tongue, but may also affect your lips, gums, palate, throat or whole mouth
- A sensation of dry mouth with increased thirst
- Taste changes in your mouth, such as a bitter or metallic taste
- Loss of taste
- Tingling, stinging or numbness in your mouth
Source: Mayo Clinic
Like your ENT the Mayo Clinic says the cause of this syndrome is unknown. However, I have always seen it go hand in hand with some form of dental trauma.
You mentioned this is your second dental appointment to go, as you put it, disastrously. If you can find a dentist who provides dental sedation, you are likely to find it easier to get past. Given the severity of the trauma and your continued issues with the dry mouth and burning throat, I’d recommend a strong dental sedation option such as oral conscious sedation or even I.V. Sedation.
When I’ve had anxious patients go this route, it completely changed how they viewed dentistry and they were able to get caught up on their dental work in a short period of time with no crippling anxiety.
Best of luck to you.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.