Metal hypersensitivity in dentists: a patch test study.

Patch test of dental alloys was conducted on dentists in the Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Hiroshima University School of Dentistry. The positive rate of the first patch test in the test group was 47.1%, and that in the control group was 10.0%, showing a large difference between the two groups. Furthermore, a second patch test was conducted on those who showed a positive response together with pustular or follicular reaction. As neither positive response nor pustular or follicular reaction was observed in the second patch test, the results were regarded as negative. Only a very slight difference in the positive rate could be observed when the results of the two tests were combined. The results of the present study suggest that the possibility is small for dentists to develop metal hypersensitivity in normal clinical practice.