The Amalgam Debate
You are a newly employed new graduate hygienist at a private practice. You were fortunate enough to get the job through a friend that happens to be very good friends with the dentist, to whom also owns the practice. You have a signed written agreement with the dentist which states that you remain employed with the practice for at least one year.
Within your first week of work you discover the practice has very strong practice policy. The policy states that as part of your dental hygienist you must strongly encourage your patients to have their amalgam fillings removed and replaced with a plastic composite material due to the owner of the practices beliefs that can cause neurotoxicity. Because your scope does not allow you replace amalgam restorations in adult teeth, you are told that these patients must be promptly referred to a dentist within the practice after their appointment with you.
This idea that amalgam is toxic really interests you, so much so that throughout your three year degree you did a lot of research in this issue and found that there was no credible research that suggests these allegations to be true. You believe that amalgam is both a durable and in-expensive restorative option and replacing them with white fillings is an unnecessary expense. You do not want to upset your new boss or your friend by refusing to abide by practice policy.
It is proposed that you should refer all your patients to the dentist in charge to have their amalgam fillings removed and replaced.