|
A recent study associates yearly or more frequent dental X-rays to an increased risk of developing meningioma, the most commonly diagnosed brain
tumor.
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Contrast_enhanced_meningioma.jpg
For her study, Dr. Elizabeth Claus, the study's lead author and a professor at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut and her team recruited 1,433 people diagnosed with intracranial meningioma - a tumor that forms in the tissues lining the brain - between May 2006 and April 2011. All of the participants were diagnosed when they were between 20 and 79 years old.
For comparison, the researchers also followed 1,350 people who were similar in age, sex and state of residence as the study group, but who had not been diagnosed with a
tumor.
The study looked at how often people had three different types of dental X-rays. They included a focused image of one area, a number of images of the full mouth and a single panoramic view of the entire mouth. These are known in dentistry parlance as bitewing, full-mouth and panorex films,
respectively.
Regardless of the age when the bitewings were taken, those who had them yearly or more frequently were at between 40 percent and 90 percent higher risk at all ages to be diagnosed with a brain
tumor.
Dr. Paul Pharoah, a cancer researcher at the University of Cambridge said in a statement the results would mean an increase in lifetime risk of intracranial meningioma in the U.K. from 15 out of every 10,000 people to 22 in 10,000 people.
Panoramic X-rays taken at a young age, especially if done yearly or more often before age 10, also raised the risk of meningiomas by up to five
times.
The ADA, American Dental Association, has reviewed the study and notes that the results rely on the individuals’ memories of having dental X-rays taken years earlier.
The study acknowledges that some of the subjects received dental x-rays decades ago when radiation exposure was greater. Radiation rates were higher in the past due to the use of old x-ray technology and slower speed film. The ADA encourages further research in the interest of patient
safety.
As part of the ADA’s recommendations to minimize radiation exposure, the ADA encourages the use of abdominal shielding (e.g., protective aprons) and thyroid collars on all patients. In addition, the ADA recommends that dentists use E or F speed film, the two fastest film speeds available, or a digital x
-ray.
Source
Dental x-rays and risk of meningioma
American Dental Association
(MDN)
|
