The BDA guidelines include that pregnant woman are not to be given amalgams or have amalgams removed. This is because they know that mercury from the amalgams passes through the placenta to the unborn baby. They worry about unborn babies...but don't worry about us.

The NHS will allow its dentists to remove and replace amalgams free of charge if a test proves positive, which it did in my case. I had an appointment with a Consultant Toxicologist/Dental Surgeon at the Royal London Dental Hospital in Whitechapel, London, BUT, she told me the only protection they would use would be a rubber dam and NO OTHER form of protection of any kind..no protective clothing, no high powered suction or drilling, no alternative air supply, etc., etc. Nothing! She said none of it was needed!!!! Also, definitely NO chelation afterwards.

When I told her that I was not prepared to have them removed in that way I was told that I would not get another chance, there was no changing my mind and that I would be struck off their books and would never be welcome back if I refused the treatment there and then. Good! Coz there is no way I'd want to go back there.

As for the tests, I had a metals patch test, urine test and blood test. The one which they were relying on was the metal patch test as they said the amount of mercury, if found in blood or urine, was usually a normal amount, which showed up with me. But, NORMAL AMOUNT??? Surely, as mercury is so toxic there cannot be normal amounts????? No amount of mercury, no matter how small should be in our urine or our blood. That's madness!

A BDA Factfile which I had downloaded from the BDA's website a few years ago stated that high powered instruments were to be used if they did go ahead with removals, so why don't they use them? With reference to this factfile, I noticed about 9 months ago that it is no longer there on their website for public view/download and only members of the BDA who have a password to enter other parts of the site have access to it! Hmmmmmm! I wonder why?

I fought for 3 1/2 years to get the NHS to do the treatment for me and it was a complete waste of time.

Lyn (London)