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Faulty Crowns Save Email Print
Posted: 2:37 PM Feb 22, 2008
Last Updated: 12:28 AM Feb 23, 2008
Reporter: Whitney Ray


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There are concerns tonight that the lead found in Chinese toys may also be showing up in implants, crowns and dentures from China and India. The imports aren’t strictly regulated and have made some people sick. There are no laws requiring dentist to tell you where they buy the products, but Florida lawmakers are pushing for full disclosure.

Philip Twelves doesn’t know where his tooth implant came from

“They just said it was porcelain, I really don’t recall if they said where it was manufactured.”

The story is the same for Owen Hardin

“I’ve never asked, but I have wondered.”

A trip to the dentist is scary enough. Then add the fear of lead poisoning. Some implants coming from overseas are contaminated.

Dental Technician Buddy Wester follows strict regulations when building implants or molding partials. He says overseas labs don’t have the same regulations.

“If the restoration comes in from overseas, and it has some type of hazardous material unbeknownst to the dentist and the patient and the patient become ill, then there’s no way to track that restoration.”

While there aren’t any reported cases of this kind of dangerous dental work being done in Florida, Nationwide overseas implants have made people sick.

The cases stem from lead based dental work. Lead is strictly prohibited in domestic dental labs

The internet is full of sites showing dentists how to make big profits. Lawmakers fear dentists are looking overseas to cut costs. One proposal would require labs and dentists to tell patients what materials are going into their mouths.

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Posted by: Mary Location: 54153 on Mar 6, 2008 at 09:17 AM
how would i know if there would be lead in my new dentures. i do know every time i try to wear them, i get sores in my mouth.

Posted by: Louis Location: NY on Mar 4, 2008 at 07:47 PM
Does anyone know what type of ailments may be caused by the lead? What are the symptoms?

Posted by: John Location: Columbus, OH on Feb 28, 2008 at 05:25 AM
A note on dental labs - many insurance companies provide links to low cost labs that out source to foreign countries in order to show the dentist a way to participate in their deep discount insurance PPO and still make a slim profit by lowering their lab costs by 50% - 75%.

Posted by: Warren Location: Tampa on Feb 25, 2008 at 06:55 AM
You can buy a t-shirt for a few dollars and you can read where the garment was made before you purchase. A dental patient who is spending sometimes thousands of dollars does not have the same rights? This should be a top priority for every State representative!

Posted by: Eric Location: Clearwater- Florida on Feb 22, 2008 at 07:58 PM
I feel this is an injustice for the American people and it is the duty of the government to protect us from these type of outsourcing nightmares.

Posted by: Richard Daniels Location: Chicago on Feb 22, 2008 at 05:47 PM
This has been a potential threat in the industry since the large scale importing of crowns began in the US and Europe. Yet whilst dental laboratory representation organisations have raised this as a concern to governing organisations both at state and national level the opportunity for proper regulation of such items has not been supported by dentist organisations globally, the reason for this is that there is a fear that regulation of these items will raise the cost of the crowns - but what cost do you put on patient safety and protection. The competent authorities need to act on this story and regulate all custom made dental appliances and provide patients with adequate disclosure documents that inform them of the origin of the crown, who made it and with what materials - anything less is denying patients the right to know what is being fitted in their mouth.

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