Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Do Dental X-Rays Really Cause Brain Tumors?

Thursday, April 12, 2012

The big health headlines yesterday talked about a study done at Yale University that connected frequent dental x-rays with a type of non-cancerous brain tumor.

Do you really need to worry when we say we need to take an x-ray? The answer is not really. Yes, dental x-rays do expose you to radiation but only a tiny amount. You get about the same amount of radiation flying across country and you probably aren't going to cancel your California vacation because of it.

The study was published in the American Cancer Society's online journal. It looked at more than 1400 people who had been diagnosed with a tumor called a meningioma. Meningioma is rare, occurring in only 8 out of every 100,000 people. Even so it is the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor. The average age of the patients in the study was 57 and they were asked to remember how often they had received dental x-rays from childhood to adulthood.

Patients with meningioma were twice as likely to have reported getting dental x-rays every year. The study author, Dr. Elizabeth Claus said "We know people will be concerned but we are not telling people they should stop going to see their dentist." Dr. Claus went on to acknowledge that most of the patients had received dental x-rays over most of their lives using old technology which gave off much higher doses of radiation.

NBC Nightly News did a very informative segment on the study and their experts not only questioned the higher radiation levels due to the age of the study participants but also took issue with the fact that dental records weren't used -- only the memories of those involved which they suggested could be unreliable. (I don't know about you but I would find it impossible to remember how many dental x-rays I have had in my life).

Please know that we only order the x-rays that we really need and that we use digital radiography which greatly reduces the amount of radiation involved. Patients are also protected by aprons and thyroid collars.

Unfortunately, dental x-rays are here to stay because no other technology allows us to "see" oral health problems that cannot be found with a visual or physical examination. Infections, abscesses, cracked teeth and even oral cancers are discovered using radiographs -- just remember, we only do the ones we need to ensure your health. Please contact Dr. Kenneth A. Mogell, DMD at 561-394-9000 to schedule your next appointment.

Labels: dental x-rays