According to a paper by researchers led by Elizabeth Claus, a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), in Boston, and the School of Medicine at Yale University in New Haven, there may be a link between receiving frequent dental X-rays when young and the development of the most common type of primary brain tumor, known as meningioma.
Their work appears in the journal Cancer.
To reach their conclusions, researchers used 1,350 matched controls and compared them to records on 1,433 patients who were aged between 20 and 79 when they received a diagnosis of meningioma between May 2006 and April 2011.
Those patients identified as having meningiomas were more likely to have had a dental X-ray known as a bitewing exam, which gives dentists a picture of the lower and upper teeth crowns at the same time. For patients having this as part of an annual exam, their risk of developing meningioma was as high as 1.9 times higher than the control group.
Meanwhile, those patients who had annual panorex exam, an X-ray that shows the upper and lower jaws as well as teeth, were three times as likely as the controls in developing meningioma.
The most significant environmental risk factor for meningioma is ionizing radiation, which most of us receive through dental X-rays, although the amount of radiation used today is substantially less than it was years ago.
Said Dr. Claus, "This research suggests that although dental x-rays are an important tool in maintaining good oral health, efforts to moderate exposure to this form of imaging may be of benefit to some patients."
Source: Medical News Today
The information provided on CancerTreatment.net is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. This information is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute the practice of medicine. We encourage all visitors to see a licensed physician or nutritionist if they have any concerns regarding health issues related to diet, personal image and any other topics discussed on this site. Neither the owners or employees of CancerTreatment.net nor the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading this site. Always speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Please see our Legal Statement for further information.
