Metal Mouth Message Board

Another question...in doing some reading I see that braces or maybe just the wire contain nickel. I've had a patch test done earlier this year and I'm allergic to nickel - can't wear cheap jewelry, ever since I was a kid. Anyway I called my ortho and he said I could come in tomorrow and he can tape a piece of the wire to my arm and see if I have a reaction. I'm just nervous about this. I read some other posts on this site, but wanted to see if there were any new experiences out there. Thanks!

My skin reacts to nickel a little and pierced earrings will cause my ears to become raw and ooze in 1-3 days, having to re-enter the healing process. While a watch on the arm or jeans buttons will cause itching, the earrings cause open sores. I'm not sure taping a wire to your arm would accurately imitate the effect in the mouth.

My orthodontist ordered stainless steel brackets & wires for me. Neither of us thought it would be a good idea to add dermatitis to the mix for ~2 years, with mouth irritation being expected even without dermatitis. 2 weeks now and there wasn't excessive discomfort the first few days.

Whatever your choice, I hope it goes well. Sunniest regards

I'd just skip the "tape test"; it seems you have a pretty well-documented nickel allergy. Taping a wire to your skin is very different from the stuff grinding into the mouth ulcers that nearly every ortho patient develops during the first couple of weeks... in most people, the cheeks quickly callus over, but I could see that not happening (or being really annoying) if you are allergic to the brackets or wire.

Your ortho really wants to be able to use Nickel because Ni-Ti wires are the mainstay of the initial stages of modern orthodontic treatment. Your treatment will probably take longer, and require more visits, if they can't be used. Since ortho's get paid according to a flat rate, they'd really prefer you be done with ASAP.

I'm also allergic to nickel, being unable to wear cheap jewelry. When I told my orthodontist, she put one band on my furthest back molar and let that sit for about 2 weeks. She said that if I had any reaction at all to it to call her and they'd rush me in to remove it. I think they wanted to give it time to cause an ulcer in my mouth with the rubbing (which it did) and to see if I would react with the ulcer AND without the ulcer (which I didn't). She did explain to me that there is very little nickel in the bands and brackets that she wanted to use on me, but they did it as a precaution anyway. Maybe your orthodontist can do the same? I'm in the self-ligating brackets, btw.

Huh... I wouldn't have guessed that jewelry could cause a problem, but NiTi wires not cause an issue. I could understand the brackets not causing a problem; they are stainless steel, and it is both stable and doesn't really have much Nickel in it.

I too am allergic to nickel. My skin breaks out and becomes very itchy and oozes. That said, I have had no issue with any of the metal I've had so far (palatal expander, TPA, or metal braces).