With symptoms ranging from breathing difficulties, headaches, dizziness to sometimes debilitating illnesses, many people are realizing that the chemicals in the world that we have come to depend upon are actually toxic to many individuals. One example is mercury amalgam fillings, which have become well-known as an irritant for many dental patients. But it has now come to light that some chemically sensitive people may also be affected by other replacement dental materials used.

"I suggest to many patients that they take advantage of serum biocompatibility testing.", explains Beverly Hills dentist, Dr. Kourosh Maddahi. "It is possible to use a serum blood specimen to determine what one's 'least toxic' replacement dental materials might be. We use the term 'least toxic' because any foreign substance introduced into the body will, to some degree, aggravate the immune system. This is the purpose of the immune system, to ward off substances not naturally found in the body."

This testing is a laboratory screening process used to help identify existing sensitivity problems to various chemical groups and families of compounds in an individual patient during dental care. It specifically looks for existing systemic sensitivity which could be associated with various bio-materials and restorative products that are used to repair and reconstruct teeth, bone structures, joints and other body tissue. Classical immunological methods are used resulting in test results reporting on as many as 7000 trade-named products and almost 100 chemical groups and families.

Dr. Maddahi explains, "Products that produce such a reaction from the immune system, quantified by the degree of serum clouding resulting from protein precipitation upon the addition of a given chemical, are felt to overtax the immune system over time. An overtaxed immune system can lead to a wide range of medical problems. Often we find that such sensitivity can worsen any medical problems that already exist. I think it is important to avoid such troubles whenever possible. When we know about these difficulties, we can steer clear of using any such materials."

The report of the test results is over 30 pages long and lists the categories of "Highly Reactive," "Moderately Reactive," and "Least Reactive" of different dental products, including composite fillings, crown materials, bridge materials, cements, denture materials, and other materials. Most patients will be found to have some materials in the "Least Reactive" category from which the dentist may choose. Although this does not guarantee to be a completely safe choice, years of clinical experience with this testing has consistently shown such a choice to be vastly superior and preferable over a dentist's random assumption that each body has the same reactivity to these materials.

Dr. Kourosh Maddahi, has been specializing in creating beautiful, natural smiles and superior dental health for 20 years and is located in Beverly Hills at 436 N. Roxbury Drive, Suite 202 and can be reached at 310-888-7797.