Dental X-Rays May Be Linked with Brain Tumors
Apr-12-2012

Researchers say frequent dental X-rays may increase the risk of the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor in adults in the U.S.
Meningiomas are generally benign, non-cancerous tumors that develop from the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Most such tumors are triggered by exposure to ionizing radiation, such as that from X-rays (and in a small set of cases, from atomic bomb blasts), and many develop after prolonged or high-level exposure. But researchers led by Dr. Elizabeth Claus of the department of epidemiology and public health at Yale University found that low-level exposure to radiation from dental X-rays was also associated with an increased risk of the tumors.
For the study, Claus's team looked 1,433 patients who were diagnosed with meningiomas in five states between 2006 and 2011, and compared them with 1,350 people without tumors. The researchers compared their self-reported lifetime dental X-ray histories, and found that those with tumors were more than twice as likely to report having had at least one bitewing X-ray of their teeth (in which a technician takes pictures of the upper and lower back teeth to check for cavities or alignment problems).

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