My 77-year-old mom’s dentures are making her sick — and the dentist refuses to help.

Last year, my 77-year-old mom went to the dentist and was told she needed to have most of her teeth pulled, but a couple of her front ones were still okay. They told her that after healing, they’d make her a partial denture. Her insurance didn’t cover most of it, so she had to take out a loan to pay for everything.

She eventually got her partial and was super excited—she wore them for two days and had zero issues. No pain, no trouble eating, no gagging—she was adjusting really well. But on day three, she suddenly got very sick. No energy, flu-like symptoms, nausea—she was in bed for days. She stopped wearing the partials while sick. After about a week, she tried again… and by day three, she was sick again.

This kept happening every single time she wore them. Eventually, she had to stop using them altogether.

We convinced her to call the dentist and explain what was going on. They made her schedule an appointment just to discuss it. When she explained everything, they completely dismissed her. Told her the dentures were fine, that it was “all in her head,” or that she was eating the wrong foods, or not eating correctly. Then they told her she needed to see a medical doctor because it had “nothing to do with the partials.”

While she was there, they did an exam and suddenly told her that her two front teeth—the ones they previously said were fine—were infected and needed to be pulled. Mind you, she wasn’t in any pain, had no swelling, and zero symptoms of a tooth infection. She asked if they could just prescribe antibiotics, since she cannot afford to get another denture. (She’s still making payments on the first one!) They refused, saying antibiotics would be pointless and that the teeth “aren’t worth saving.” Then they sent her home with the infection completely untreated.

After a few months passed, she started second-guessing herself—thinking maybe the dentist was right, maybe it was just a weird coincidence, and the dentures weren’t the issue after all. So she gave them another shot. And again—by day three, she was sick and bedridden.

I started digging online and found info saying that dentures often contain metal inside them, and sometimes cheaper metals are used to cut costs or boost profits. None of us had any idea they even contained metal. My mom is allergic to certain metals. She can wear gold just fine, but if cheaper metals touch her skin—even the button on her jeans—she breaks out in rashes or worse. So it makes total sense that having that kind of metal in her mouth for days, and swallowing saliva exposed to it, could make her really sick.

We are beyond frustrated—not just by the possible allergic reaction, but by the way the dental office completely dismissed, disrespected, and gaslit a 77-year-old woman. They never asked about allergies. They never disclosed what materials were in the denture. Instead, they told her she didn’t know how to eat after 70+ years on this planet and tried to push her into buying another partial—while she’s still paying off the first one.

She deserves so much better than this.

Doesn’t the dentist have a legal obligation to disclose that a component in the device is known to cause allergic reactions in some people—or at the very least, an obligation to ask if the patient is allergic to any of the components?