Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog
Denture Cream Lawsuit – Zinc Poisoning Symptoms
It has increasingly been reported that the denture cream ingredient zinc is associated with neurological symptoms including neuropathy in denture wearers. The recommended daily allowance of zinc is 8 mg for women and 11 mg for men. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies the largest daily tolerable zinc intake is 40 mg.
Fixodent denture adhesive and alleged Fixodent zinc poisoning is complicated by the fact zinc, as a trace element, is part of a healthy diet. Denture cream zinc poisoning happens when too much zinc is used.
According to the official Fixodent web site, “the amount of zinc an average denture adhesive user would ingest from daily usage of Fixodent” is less than the amount of zinc contained in most daily multivitamins, or fewer than 6 oysters.
According to an article published this past April by Natural News.com denture cream users have been known to apply anywhere from six, to 20 times the recommended amount of denture cream every week.
Baylor College of Dentistry’s Dr. Charles Wakefield told Dallas / Forth Worth’s WFAA-TV in 2007 that the vast majority of people who use over-the-counter denture creams do so because they have poorly fitting dentures, which often means they use much more product than recommended.
Meanwhile there appears to be little information on the Fixodent web site with regard to the potential, harmful effects of too much zinc.
Fixodent links to an online fact sheet published by the Office of Dietary Supplements, that includes a section on the health risks associated with excessive zinc use.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates denture adhesives, which are Class 1 medical devices under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and classified as low-risk. As such, denture creams are not required to list their ingredients on the label.
While manufacturers are not required to submit marketing applications to FDA for most class I devices, they still must register and list a class I device with the agency and comply with other applicable FDA requirements.
These requirements include adverse event reporting, manufacturing controls, and labeling that is neither false nor misleading. FDA monitors adverse events from medical devices through mandatory and voluntary reporting systems.
Manufacturers and hospitals are required by law to report deaths and serious injuries. Manufacturers also must report malfunctions that could result in death or serious injury. FDA reviews reports submitted to the agency and has authority to take immediate action, when warranted, to protect public health.
Consumers can report problems experienced with any product to FDA either by phone (800-FDA-1088), fax (800-FDA-0178), on-line (www.fda.gov) or mail (MedWatch, The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852).
Consumers have looked at filing a Fixodent lawsuit or Poligrip lawsuit based on the fact that the manufacturers have not listed zinc as an ingredient in their denture cream and failed to warn about the serious risk of denture cream zinc poisoning. Studies have revealed that many denture wearers use excessive amounts of denture cream often due to poorly fitting dentures exposing them to excessive amounts of zinc contained in the denture adhesive.
An estimate 35 million Americans who use dentures are only now becoming aware of the risk of denture cream poisoning caused by a zinc overdose. The FDA currently does not require manufacturers of denture adhesive to list their product ingredients. High zinc levels (hyperzincemia) can cause the depletion of copper (hypocupremia) in the body which can cause neurological problems including neuropathy.
Zinc poisoning symptoms of neuropathy include:
• Numbness and tingling in the extremities
• Balance problems
• Loss of sensation
• Unexplained pain
• Decreased walking stride
An August 2008 article published in the journal Neurology reports that several patients who heavily used denture cream had symptoms of neurological side effects including weakness in the hands and legs, numbness and balance problems. All of the patients were tested and had abnormally high levels of zinc.
We represent all Denture Cream lawsuit clients on a contingency basis which means that there are never any legal fees unless we win compensation in your case. If you or a loved one has used Fixodent, Poligrip or another brand of denture cream and developed neurological problems you may suffer from zinc poisoning.
Poligrip and Fixodent Denture Cream Poisoning Legal Help
If you or a loved one have used Poligrip or Fixodent denture cream adhesives and since developed Zinc Poisoning, Hypocupremia, Hyperzincemia or Neuropathy, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation and we can help.
If you or a family member has been personally injured because of the fault of someone else: by the use of dangerous drugs, bad products, or toxic injury etc then please contact the Fort Worth Texas Defective Drugs Product Liability Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik. For a no obligation, free case analysis, please call 817-255-4001 or Contact Me Online.
The Dr. Shezad Malik Law is currently evaluating and accepting Denture Cream Zinc Neuropathy cases.