Widely used dental sealants contain substances that can degrade into Bisphenol A (BPA), a study in the latest issue of Pediatrics concludes. Only minute amounts of the “devil chemical” are released, but the researchers still suggest (“in the spirit of precaution”) that when possible, pregnant women delay getting dental work done until after giving birth. The authors include noted toxic terrorist Dr. Phil Landrigan of Mt. Sinai. Dr. Jim Crall, professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of California at Los Angeles, tells msnbc.com that the article “is going a bit beyond the current level of evidence when it comes to pregnant women. And it’s maybe a little overcautious. The science around this is still pretty sketchy as relates to dental exposure.”
ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross worries that some women will be scared into skipping dental care altogether. He points to a statement from the American Dental Association as a missed opportunity to reassure consumers.
“If you go through the whole statement you’ll find that it correctly states that there’s no risk at the exposures from dental sealants, but they then go on to diffuse that with all this other stuff about what happens to BPA in the body metabolically, how you can get BPA-free sealants, how you can clean BPA off with washing,” Dr. Ross says. “The message therefore is that BPA is not so safe, which is false.”
ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan says the study points out BPA’s ubiquity. “People are beginning to realize that BPA is everywhere. It’s a very useful chemical. There’s no way we can just get rid of it that easily — nor should we.”
