Epicutaneous test patch test

The epicutaneous test or patch test is a provocation test or allergy test to determine whether a contact allergy is present.

The epicutaneous test is currently the only means of detecting late allergies in which there is a longer period between exposure and reaction. The allergens to be tested, e.g. nickel, are fixed on the skin for about 48 hours using a patch. To check intolerances to dental materials such as amalgam, an epicutaneous test is performed, because silver amalgam is an alloy of mercury and silver amalgam is a material used for filling therapy in dentistry when amalgam is filled.

A substance that can trigger the allergy is applied to the skin and the skin reaction is checked after 24, 48 and 72 hours. The amalgam intolerance can be proven by the epicutaneous test (patch test) whether one suffers from a mercury allergy or amalgam allergy, because amalgam is an alloy mercury. By the patch test one can exclude an allergy by amalgam like also by other materials of dental prosthesis, so a dental prosthesis on the prosthesis compatibility on the prosthesis base (prosthesis plastic). The sensitivity in humans is very different, because allergies are increased to hypersensitivity immune reaction of the organism to foreign substances, because under allergy one understands an acquired change of the body's own defense mechanisms. In order to prevent a disease-causing hypersensitivity, an intact immune system is the most important factor in allergy.

According to general doctrine, there are no allergies to titanium, for example. To be on the safe side, however, the allergy passport should always be presented to the dentist before dental treatment, because there are very different dental alloys.