A young woman from Inverurie was left with painful “elephant skin” all over her body after taking an allergic reaction to her new £1,000 veneers.
Lily Lindsay, 29, decided to pay for a new smile after being self conscious of her teeth all her life, and was originally ‘chuffed with the result.’
Soon after however, she started developing hay fever-like symptoms in August 2022. The reaction left her on antidepressants and a recluse in her own home.
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Lily, a document controller, said: “My veneers gave me immensely dry and flaky skin – like elephant skin. No doctors could help me – so I ended up on antidepressants. It was absolutely consuming me.”
Lily had struggled with the way her front teeth looked all her life and so on August 3 last year, she decided to pay £1,000 for dental composite veneers – a type of tooth cap made from resin – after seeing TikTok influencers getting them done.
Her best friend’s wedding was coming up and she didn’t want to worry about her smile, as she added: “I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about my smile.
“But I saw friends and TikTokers getting composite veneers – and thought I’d have it done myself. I went to a dentist – she was one of the best around.
“Afterwards, I absolutely loved them. I was so chuffed with the result.”
Two weeks later, Lily began to suffer from red, itchy eyes, as well as dry lips and skin. She made an appointment with a doctor, who thought the issue may be dermatitis – a common form of skin irritation – and gave her a cream typically used for rosacea.
Lily was also told to avoid anything containing an ingredient called sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) – which is used in toothpaste and shampoo.
She said: “I stopped using my cleanser and started using the rosacea cream. My skin didn’t really take kindly to that.”
After it didn’t get any better, she went back to her doctor and was told it could be eczema. She was given steroid cream which started to clear it up before it returned with a vengeance a month later.
The thick, red blotches covered her face and spread down her body – the worst of which was in her underarms.
Lily said: “Day-to-day, my face would get a little more crusty, itchy and red. It was so painful under my arms – I couldn’t even put my arms down or shower. My face felt incredibly hot, angry and itchy.
“I was buying new products to help, trying every diet under the sun – each time, I just ended up in a vicious cycle which was immensely mentally damaging. My mum came up to visit me for a weekend, she couldn’t bear to see me like that. In fact, she had to leave.
“She couldn’t handle the way I looked because I looked so unwell and she couldn’t do anything to help me. I felt like a bad friend for not being able to think about how to plan her henny or help her through her big day. I couldn’t do my work, I didn’t want to see my boyfriend I couldn’t be bothered feeling like this.
“I was just so low at how I looked – it got to the point where I just didn’t want to be here anymore. I felt like a failure.”
A private dermatologist patch-tested Lily for 100 different allergens – but none came up as severely as the reaction she was experiencing. By January 2023, Lily’s allergy began to affect her immune system – and she experienced dizziness, ringing ears and black spots in her vision.
A blood test revealed the inflammation was inside her body, rather than on her skin. She told one of her dad’s healthcare colleagues she thought the cause may be her veneers – after realising her reaction started two weeks after getting them done.
After hearing about Lily’s symptoms, her dad’s colleague believed her – and supported her in going back to her dentist.
Lily reached back out to her dentist and told her she wanted the veneers removed.
She said: “I phoned the dentist – and she was very shocked. It was such a rarity that they didn’t actually think it could be an allergic reaction.”
Her dentist decided to remove the veneers on April, 4, 2023 and footed the £100 bill herself.
“My dentist said she’d cover the cost, because I was clearly suffering,” Lily added. “She was so worried that filing them off may give me an anaphylactic shock – but luckily, it was fine. By mid-May this year, my face had completely cleared up.”
Lily was able to make her friend’s wedding on June 17 with no problems at all. She said: “I was absolutely fine for the wedding – we had a lovely day.”
Despite her recovery from the reaction, Lily thinks she should’ve signed a waiver before having the dental work.
She added: “I don’t ever recall seeing, or signing anything that says I might have an allergic reaction – it’s not something people really think about. We need to give composite veneers and soft fillings the same level of publicity as gel nail varnish – dentists need to advertise the risks.”
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Healthcare expert Dr. Helen Evans-Howells says it’s possible to have an allergic reaction to composite veneers.
She said: “Allergic reactions to composite veneers tend to be triggered by the resin used within these products. Commonly, this would trigger contact dermatitis which is caused by a delayed allergic reaction.
“This would tend to present with irritation at the site of the veneers or mouth ulcers. On occasion, reactions such as eczema, or eye swelling can occur.”
