Any dentists or hygienists out there? Worried sick after scale & polish.

[smilesarefree]

Hi there. I am new to mumsnet. I have just found out I am 6 weeks pregnant and am delighted. I went to the hygienist for a scale and polish last week before I was certain I wa pregnant. I have now seen stuff on the internet saying that pregnant women shouldn't get this done in their first trimester as mercury could poison the fetus when the amalgam fillings are scaled and polished. I have lots of amalgam fillings and am now sick with worry about it. Would the hygienist have avoided scaling and polishing these fillings as a matter of routine or is it as bad as I think it is and I could have caused the baby brain damage. I feel so awful as I wish I hadn't gone at all.

Don't worry - the hygienist cleans the junction of tooth with the gums and inbetween teeth, not your fillings. Even if you have margins of fillings in these areas there is nothing to worry about. Very tiny amounts of mercury could theoretically be released by an ultrasonic scaler not a hand scale. You also get tiny amounts of mercury released whenever you eat with those same teeth, brush them every day etc. there is no evidence to suggest this will harm baby.

I'm not a dentist or a hygienist, but it seems to me that if this was the case, thousands of extra brain damaged babies would be born every year and the NHS would be sued right, left and centre. I see no evidence of this.

The moral of the tale is to beware of the internet, and remember that there is a big industry in replacing amalgam fillings with white ones by getting people to panic unnecessarily.

Please dont worry. I've worked in dentistry many years and have seen ladies treated throughout their pregnancies, even having mercury fillings removed and placed and then gone on to treat their beautiful healthy babies.

I should add in case it's reassuring at all that I personally have had amalgam fillings during early pg and all my kids are fine - eldest is at Cambridge University. That's not what I would call brain damage!

Gosh thanks everyone that's great, very reassuring. I have got myself into a real state about this...isn't it amazing how much pregnancy magnifies any worry you have, and then when you look up google it gets a hundred times worse. I found a site that said it meant that I'd probably intaken lots of mercury vapour and caused irreversible brain damage as I had them cleaned at this early time.

BoffinMum did you have your fillings in as early as before 9 weeks as isn't that the danger time before the placenta is in place?

Mumsnet is fantastic, it's lovely to hear from others to reassure you.

Yes, and on one occasion I had an x-ray too for good measure, if that's any comfort. I don't normally boast about my kids, but just to out your mind at rest, that particular child is in the Gifted and Talented group in his class, speaks two languages, won third prize in an engineering competition a couple of weeks ago, and plays the saxophone. As I say, hardly brain damaged.

Beware the internet! And beware the white filling industry!! (Amalgam fillings may look a bit dark, but they are good and strong, and so many millions of pg people have had them that they are thoroughly road tested).

Thanks BoffinMum - you must be so proud of your kids, and rightly so.

You are right about the internet - it can be a fantastic resource but sometimes when you are feeling a bit fearful anyway it can take your worries into another league.

They are good kids. He was very proud his paper crane lifted 17 cans of baked beans!

Now relax and enjoy your pg!