Whats The Buzz With Dental X-rays And Cancer

Everyone is buzzing about the April 10th issue of the American Cancer Association journal study about taking dental x-rays ……. don’t panic and don’t stop seeing the dentist! Until there is more research done showing a link between cancer and dental x-rays the best advice is to get x-rays when they are necessary and only when they are necessary. The dose of radiation given in a bitewing or panoramic x-ray is lower today than it was two decades ago. Nonetheless, x-rays should be done only when necessary. This is true of all x-ray technology, and it’s the same advice experts would have given without this study. While dental practices have general guidelines for when radiographs would be necessary they should be based on individual patient needs. Benefits and risk are always a consideration and weighed as recommendations are made. Further, patients must be educated about precautions which are taken by a dental practice to reduce radiation exposure such as lead aprons, lead thyroid collars, high speed films, collimators or digital radiographs(which reduces exposure by up to 90%). Finally the doctor and team in a dental practice should be committed to minimally invasive dentistry, which means diagnosis at the earliest stage of disease to reduce the cost to patients in discomfort, time and money while preserving the most tooth structure and a patient’s whole body health.