Am I In Danger from Swallowing Porcelain Grindings?

I had a dental crown done and then the dentist had to grind some of it down. He did not rinse out my mouth afterward. I was too shy to insist on it. Now I am annoyed at myself for not speaking up for myself. I swallowed some of the porcelain grindings. I’m pretty sure there was some bonding in there too. Doesn’t the porcelain have glass in it? Am I in danger?

Ellie

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Dear Ellie,

While there is some glass in porcelain, it doesn’t have the danger you normally think of with glass. Because it has been ground down to powder, there are no sharp edges. The porcelain itself is also biocompatible, so you don’t have anything to fear with that.

However, that does not let your dentist off the hook. It was bad form for him to handle the situation this way. Standard procedure would be for him to use high volume suction equipment. This takes away all the water and debris generated in your mouth. Anything left should be rinsed and spit.

He didn’t do that, which tells me he isn’t attentive to details in his job or his care for his patients. While you are in no danger from this situation with your dental crown, I recommend finding a different dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Gilberto Tostado.

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