Purpose: To compare the sensitivity of different dental metal materials, in order to provide references for choosing of dental metal materials.
Methods: Patch test was performed on 92 patients wearing dental metal prosthesis. Pearson Chi-square test, corrected Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis with SPSS17.0 software package.
Results: (1)The sensitivity rates of different metal materials were different. The allergy rate of nickel (Ni) was the highest (22.8%), while the allergy rate of aluminum (Al) was 0. (2)More women were allergic to both palladium (Pd) and nickel (Ni) than men with significant difference (P>0.05). (3)Women with ear piercing were more allergic to nickel (Ni), but there was no significant correlation between ear piercing and nickel allergy (P>0.05).(4)There was cross reaction between nickel(Ni)and palladium (Pd), 83.3% of palladium (Pd) allergy patients were allergic to nickel (Ni), while 47.6% of nickel(Ni) allergy patients were allergic to palladium (Pd). (5)Patch test had a delayed reaction.
Conclusions: Dental metal materials have certain allergies, women are more allergic to both palladium (Pd) and nickel (Ni) than men, with significant difference. Patch test may have a delayed reaction. If necessary, observation for 96 h, 7 days or even longer time, are needed to exclude false positivity. Supported by Research Fund of Science and Technology Committee of Shanghai Municipality (10411950900).