McClatchy Newspapers – Zinc Blamed for Denture-Wearers’ Problems
McClatchy Newspapers reports:
Zinc in denture adhesives has been blamed in dozens of cases of nerve damage, including that of a North Carolina man who says 20 years of using the glues caused him to become disabled.
The products, namely Poligrip brands from GlaxoSmithKline and Fixodent from Procter & Gamble, use zinc as a bonding agent. Scientists have only recently drawn a link between the zinc-containing denture creams and possible neurological problems.
[...]
Ed Blizzard, a Houston lawyer who is representing Howell and dozens of other patients, said many of the people he represents have suffered permanent disabilities, and at least one person has died.
As a result, he said, GSK’s disclosure and warnings come too late. For years, he said, consumers had no idea that the tubes of adhesive contained zinc, or that zinc could be so harmful in high doses.
“Glaxo says don’t use the product in excess,” Blizzard said, “as if these people were alcoholics or something. They’re just trying to keep their teeth in their mouth.”
Story reprinted in the News & Observer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Times Leader, Sacramento Bee, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, and Abilene Reporter News.
Tags: denture adhesive, denture cream, Fixodent, neuropathy, Poligrip, zinc poisoning
