2003 Volume 113 Issue 2 Pages 159-163
Clinical analysis on the effect of substitution or removal of dental materials was conducted on the patients with metal patch test-positive patients at the Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University, School of Medicine between 1984–1999. The total patient numbers enrolled in this study were 51 cases, including 18 cases with pustulosis palmaris et plantaris, 7 cases with contact dermatitis, and 3 cases with atopic dermatitis. Metal components in the dental materials were analyzed by microanalyzer, and materials containing positive metals as revealed by the metal patch test were removed or substituted with new dental materials which did not contain positive metals. Favorable clinical effects were obtained in 21 out of 42 cases (50%) after removal or substitution of suspected dental materials. This effect was more apparent when the suspected metals were present in the dental materials (67%) than in the group without microanalysis (21%). Substitution or removal of dental materials in metal patch test-positive patients can be an alternate and promising approach to managing patients with refractory dermatological disease after metal patch test and microanalysis of dental metals.
