Hey Wayne,
There are definitely dangers in using a heat gun but it has been the industry standard for softening adhesive for part removal for years. Those dangers primarily being heating parts of the device that you do not intend to heat. If the "pry tool" you are referring to is the [product|IF145-198-8|iFixit iOpener], then I would highly recommend using that. It is a fantastic tool for only applying heat to the areas that you intend to do so on and it has been a joy for me to use on past repairs.