Zinc in dental adhesives can cause "horrific injuries," lawyer says

Nations advised her patients to start taking copper supplements and to stop using denture creams with zinc. Their zinc and copper levels returned to normal, she said, but most of their neurological problems remained.

"It's hard to have significant improvement," Nations said. "Our patients improved to a small degree but still had deficits."

Russo also addressed the imbalance in her body with copper supplements. Her blood returned to normal.

"I was a little shocked, actually. It just seemed like it was something so simple," Russo said. "At one point, I was so weak I couldn't get out of bed and the cure was to go to the vitamin store and buy a bunch of copper pills."

But "cure" is an overstatement. Russo's mobility problems remain. She used to wear high heels, dashing about to keep up with her husband and two kids. Now she pushes her numb feet into sneakers and stays home.

She was, she said, "happy-go-lucky." Now she's angry. In a choked voice, she described why:

"Everything has changed for me. I can't work. I can't take care of myself. My children hurt. My husband hurts. I hurt. . . . I don't want this to happen to other people or have their families go through this."