Man, Dr.: Denture paste poisonous

[TexasStooge]

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8

A North Texas man has claimed denture paste poisoned him, and he believes others may also unknowingly be putting themselves in harms way.

"If I come down the stairs, I have to be able to see my feet and hold onto the guardrail," said JD Jackson.

Walking down stairs is a practiced skill these days for Jackson.

"Like I said, my feet are a combination of numb and hypersensitive at the same time," he said.

In fact, his whole body started deteriorating a few years ago.

"[I] felt like an electric current going down my back, [and] then it started working down my leg," Jackson said. "It's like my legs right now are topically numb."

It's a nerve disorder called neuropathy commonly diagnosed in diabetics, which Jackson is not.

"When things don't add up, you always try to think outside the box and that's what we tried doing," said Dr. Vikas Bhushan, leukemia specialist.

After weeks of medical detective work, University of Texas Southwestern Dr. Bhushan discovered what he believed was wrong.

"It was literally zinc poisoning," Bhushan said.

Zinc toxicity was at least what two doctors have linked to putting paste on dentures. Jackson had used PoliGrip paste daily for eight years.

Like most denture adhesives, PoliGrip doesn't list ingredients on the label claiming that as a Class 1 Medical device with the least risk the Federal Drug Administration does not require them to do so.

However, News 8 learned the denture paste does contain zinc, which is used as an odor blocker and bonding agent.

In addition to being swallowed, zinc can be absorbed through the skin or the gums.

News 8 inquiries revealed another popular denture adhesive, Fixodent, also contained zinc.

With an estimated 35 million denture wearers in the United States alone, Dr. Bhushan now questions whether the case of zinc poisoning could be far more common and undiagnosed in the older population that typically wears dentures than believed.

"It may be worth looking into, especially the population you're talking about, diabetics with neuropathy," Dr. Bhushan said.

No government agency thus far has found any denture adhesive to be a health hazard.

GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Super PoliGrip, declined to comment because of a pending lawsuit with Jackson, but they deny the accusations.

Jackson is hoping his case and another in Texarkana will at least result in warnings on labels.

"Even toothpaste has a poison control number," he said. "This stuff [has] nothing whatsoever, no warnings, no ingredients, nothing."

He's been told the nerve damage he suffered from zinc poisoning is permanent.