When Faye Lewis chipped her front tooth, she had no way of knowing her smile would soon change the course of the dental industry.
Lewis, a 73-year-old grandmother on a fixed income, contacted a discount medical program, 10 Investigates' Lindsey Seavert reported.
"I am a senior citizen on a fixed income," Lewis said. "It had to be something I could afford."
WEB EXTRAS: Lead In Dental Work | SLIDESHOW: Images From Report
The discount medical program connected her to a large dental chain, which replaced her front teeth and installed a partial bridge in her upper jaw.
Lewis said the crowns were "one size fits all" and were large, uncomfortable and painful.
"I could not bite. I could not chew. I could not eat solid food," Lewis said.
She decided to confront the dental office.
"I said to (the dental office), 'You know what? I would like to go to your lab and have them see what you put in my mouth,' Her statement to me was, 'That would be pretty hard to do. They're in China."
Soon after, Lewis and her husband caught headlines about lead-contaminated toys from China, Seavert reported.
"I turned to him and said, 'You know what? If there is lead in metal...,'" Lewis said.
She thought her dental work was not safe, either. Lewis found a new dentist to remove her bridge after living with pain for nine months.
"I went home and, in the quiet of my own home, and I wept," Lewis said. "I thought finally, my mouth will go together normally."
Lewis sent the bridge to a chemical laboratory and the test results brought more tears.
The porcelain in her bridge showed lead measured at 160 parts per million, Seavert reported.
A plan in Congress proposes dropping the lead standard for toys to nearly half that amount, at 90 parts per million.
10 Investigates conducted our own tests on foreign crowns. One of the crowns measured 210 parts per million.
"I am going to turn the stones over and find out where this stuff is originating and why it is getting to us, and who is being negligent enough to not make sure," Lewis said.
She said she is now considering legal options.
"The (Food and Drug Administration) has got to be involved in this," Lewis said.
Lewis maintains her health suffered and doctors have yet to understand the effects of toxins in her bridge.
"There is nothing anyone can compare to," Lewis said.
Lewis said that if her dental work fit properly that she would have never known she had lead inside her mouth. She said her greatest fear is she can't be the only person who has experienced this.
"I don't know how much longer I have to live," Lewis said. "I have children that are young adults. I have grandchildren and those are the ones I am concerned about."
Since 10 Investigates' uncovered the story in February, the FDA announced that it would conduct its own tests and develop a strategy to understand the issue.
The American Dental Association notified thousands of dentists across the U.S. of the problem and will soon test foreign and domestic crowns, Seavert reported.
The ADA is also urging the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take action.
Last week, Alabama and New York introduced legislation. Both bills would require dentists to disclose where the dental work is made.
Read New York Legislation 1 | 2
The Ohio Dental Board suggests the state's dentists use a new form that would require labs to
disclose if the work is made in the U.S. or overseas.
Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for continuing coverage.
Previous Stories:
March 25, 2008:
Alabama
Introduces Dental Lab Legislation
March 13, 2008:
Some
Dentists Don't Know Where Lead Contamination Is Coming From
March 6, 2008:
Lawmakers
Pressed For Answers After Lead Reports
March 4, 2008:
Lawmakers,
FDA Eye Dental Work Report
February 28, 2008:
State
Dental Board Takes Action After 10 Investigates Report
February 27, 2008:
Foreign
Dental Work Put To Test
