A Trip to the Dentist, and One Step Closer to Cancer?
By Robert Latkany, MDOctober 26, 2009
I just came back from a trip to the dentist with a couple of my kids and forked over almost $500 cash (yes I have no dental insurance). They were very pleasant, and I think they did a thorough job. Maybe too thorough. This visit involved jamming those uncomfortable plastic white things that look like small credit cards in my mouth for the purpose of a diagnostic X-ray evaluation. I was asked to close your mouth on these things that felt like sharp shards of glass while the dental hygienist left the room for a few seconds to take an X-ray. The dentist returned a few minutes later and told me everything looks healthy, and that he'd see me in 6 months, presumably for more X-rays.
My mother always told me "don't let them take X-rays!" I forgot to tell them.
The money was one concern, but was I putting myself and my kids at risk for some future cancer? Longstreth et al determined that a full mouth series of dental X-rays performed over 20 years ago puts one at an increased risk of a menigioma (brain cancer). The authors clarify that the X-rays used back then emitted higher amounts of radiation, and that modern X-rays of the mouth did not appear to lead to increased risks. Preston-Martin and colleague reviewed 5 studies evaluating tumors of the parotid gland (salivary gland) and other sites and found that medical and dental diagnostic radiography was the greatest risk factor. These authors also point out that the lower exposure to radiation nowadays has yet to be determined as a risk factor. Ribeiro et al evaluated DNA damage and cellular death in children and adults after dental X-ray exposure (from cells that line their mouth) and determined while there was no DNA damage there was evidence of cellular death in both children and adults.
So the verdict is out on whether we are exposing ourselves to dangerous quantities of radiation during modern dental radiological examinations and what the future ramifications are of such exposure. For now, I am out $500 and have healthy teeth.
Hopefully, I won't have a meningioma in 20 years.
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