Is the dental profession suppressing information on the dangers of amalgams?
A. No, the dental profession believes in informed patient consent and recognizes the patient interest above any other considerations. You are in a better position than we are to determine the degree to which this statement is correct. The CDA policy states that “Dentists want patients to be aware of conclusions from the range of scientific studies on dental amalgam so that the appropriate choice can be made.” This statement is difficult to reconcile with the CDA’s sweeping dismissal of research such as that discussed above, linking mercury levels with the number of amalgam fillings.(208) Lohyn derides the American Dental Association for the same tactics. “The significance of this,” he explains, “is that dentists almost universally accept that what they are told by their Associations is accurate. Combined with a very selective reporting by the Associations of the relevant literature, the end result is that the dentists are particularly ignorant about even the existence of research which
