Re: “The Pregnant Dental Patient” Marylin C. Miller, DDS, Oral Health, March, 2001
Congratulations to Dr. Miller for her important article in the March 2001 edition of Oral Health. Dentists need to be regularly reminded of how to best protect the developing foetus.
I would like to point out one important omission in the article, however, concerning the use of amalgam in pregnant women. It is surprising this article was originally published in the Journal of the California Dental Association — where, since the enactment of Proposition 65 — dentists are now legally obligated to inform all patients when they use mercury amalgam “a substance that has been shown to cause birth defects in the state of California.”
Animal studies have conclusively demonstrated that the mercury leaching out of amalgam crosses the placental barrier and actually concentrates in the developing foetus. Nine countries — including Canada — now recommend dentists AVOID doing any amalgam work (insertion, removal, polishing, etc.) in the pregnant patient because of the risk to the foetus.
Yours truly for better health,
Pierre Larose DDS, FAGD, St. Laurent, Quebec
A topless woman on the cover. Very professional.
T. Veale, BSc., DDS
