ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: Tumbleweed on April 10, 2012, 06:50:33 pm
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/us-dental-x-rays-idUSBRE8390GM20120410
Good to know!
Best wishes to all,
TW
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Tumbleweed...
I am afraid to read the link you posted. Why? Because I have probably had more dental work than anyone on this board! (Smiley face.) I have probably had hundreds of xrays in my lifetime, tons of fillings, root canals,-you name it. I'm 64 and have been in a dentist's chair since I was 8. At a time when they did not use novacaine!
I may read your link tomorrow. I have been thinking that all the xrays have caused my neuroma.
What's done is done.
However, remember, we are exposed to all kinds of pollution. On that happy note.
Millie
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The report was in our newpapers over here today too.
I haven't had a dental x-ray in over 35 years so I'm thinking that it may be like potatoes making you fat or red wine keeps your insides healthy or this gem - being in poverty makes you a failure.
Yep, it may be the cause of some cancerous tumours but our reports here say nothing about benign ANs.
I was told that HRT would cause uterine cancer - the problem with that theory was that I'd had a hysterctomy. :P
I like to read reports but they let everyone smoke (cancer-causing) cigarettes yet people can't smoke anywhere indoors anymore. Grog is also legal but it gets abused too.
Cell phones may cause cancer but we still use them.
I prefer not to be scared by a report on something but I like to read them anyway. If I steered clear of everything that was in a report then I may as well go to bed and stay there LOL Oh, I can't do that because of dust mites! (Now LMBO)
Sorry about taking this lightly if someone is affected by it. I don't mean it in a mean way.
Love to all
Suu xxoo
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Oh, I had to jump in on this....
Dr. Elizabeth Claus, NS at Brigham Womans (who happens to be my NS in my AN journey) released this study out of Brigham Woman's. There is a full team of the "BrainScienceFoundation" study team at the Brigham (http://www.brainsciencefoundation.org/ (http://www.brainsciencefoundation.org/)) that put this study together.
Please note that Dr. Claus is also on the Medical Advisory Board of the ANA.
I emailed Dr. Claus yesterday congratulating her on the study... and as with any study that is released, there will be good and not so good reception to a study. I've been following them on many sites, including CNN, etc. Interesting array of discussions ongoing.
Please note that Dr. Claus was a guest speaker at the ANA Symposium in Cinci last year. She is putting together, for the ANA, a 5 year study for the epidemiology of AN's. IMO, it's about time someone did. Good on her for doing so!
For many on the forums that had the chance to meet her and hear her speak.... they understand her dedication to all forms of brain tumors. Meningiomas are the largest % of all brain tumors (benign and malignant) in which, if memory serves me right... AN's are (at last check) only 6% of all brain tumors and for her team to release this study re: meningiomas and dental xrays (for which, like many, I was exposed as a kid back in the day with multiple cavities and experienced many bitewing xrays and to this day, have multiple medical ailments), I praise her and her team for doing this study and stepping up to the plate on it... regardless if critics or not.
Dr Claus.... as always.... I commend you! :)
Phyl
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I, as well, had the privilege of hearing and talking with Dr. Claus at the ANA Symposium last June. I do not have my notes in front of me and I was just a month post-op at the time, but as I remember it is ionizing radiation that seems to be causing the long-term problems.
I, for one, have refused "regular" dental x-rays for quite some time. However, I had large doses of radiation to my nasal passages when I was a teenager and they feel strongly that is a large contributing factor to my having an AN.
I have a dear friend who had large doses of radiation to her face for acne when she was a teenager and she has had two meningiomas.
We need to remember that the radiation given in cyberknife, gamma knife, and FSR is low dose and very targeted so should not be confused with the ionizing radiation given in dental x-rays.
Clarice
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The report was in our newpapers over here today too.
I haven't had a dental x-ray in over 35 years so I'm thinking that it may be like potatoes making you fat or red wine keeps your insides healthy or this gem - being in poverty makes you a failure.
Yep, it may be the cause of some cancerous tumours but our reports here say nothing about benign ANs.
I was told that HRT would cause uterine cancer - the problem with that theory was that I'd had a hysterctomy. :P
I like to read reports but they let everyone smoke (cancer-causing) cigarettes yet people can't smoke anywhere indoors anymore. Grog is also legal but it gets abused too.
Cell phones may cause cancer but we still use them.
I prefer not to be scared by a report on something but I like to read them anyway. If I steered clear of everything that was in a report then I may as well go to bed and stay there LOL Oh, I can't do that because of dust mites! (Now LMBO)
Sorry about taking this lightly if someone is affected by it. I don't mean it in a mean way.
Love to all
Suu xxoo
You said it all ..... Do not forget when eggs were bad for you and now they are okay and I can name other numerous things...My motto everything in moderation ....
Best Wishes,
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Suu ~
I'm with you!
Science continually discovers alleged new threats to our health. Frankly, I have ceased to get too excited about these discoveries and resulting warnings, which sometimes end up being quietly abandoned or the effects minimized at a much later date and with little publicity. I've seen coffee (I drink lots of it) once treated as a threat to my health and now I've read that it's beneficial. Go figure.
These back-and-forth judgements by the medical experts are frustrating. I tend to live my life in a prudent manner and I don't obsess over everything I eat, breathe or come in contact with. I get dental X-rays about every 2 years and I'm not terribly concerned about doing so because I've had dental issues in the (distant) past and I believe X-rays are an important tool for my dentist to use to help maintain my dental health. If I really believed they caused cancer (or my AN) I would never have one again. However, that has not been definitively proven.
So, like you, I note the warnings from doctors and scientists but don't immediately alter my sensible lifestyle (I don't drink or smoke, maintain a healthy weight, get exercise and sleep well). However, if and when science proves something is actually a health hazard, I do take note and respond accordingly.
Jim
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I'm not a research scientist or anything, but do have some experience in research design.
I read a review of this study on msnbc.com yesterday. That website essentially said this study had some interesting findings, and would suggest further directions for research, but was far from conclusive. Essentially this is because of how the study was designed. Check on msnbc.com if you want to get more specific details.
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Few things to note
Scientists have known for a long time that xrays can be harmful and can cause cancer and tumours.
This is why the dentists and radiologists are nowhere to be seen when the xray is taken, and they wear those dosimeter films.
Over the years xray machines have improved incredibly and are now tuned to the frequency that exposes film the best, rather than spewing xrays of all different frequencies all over the place.
Film sensitivity is much better too.
So the amount of radiation you receive in an xray today is much less than what you received 40 years ago.
So even after further studies and a link between dental xrays and meningioma is established, it could be that it is only for people that had xrays of old.
As for FSR and Cyberknife. Its the same sort of xray radiation, in fact if you undergo FSR in particular the amount of radiation you receive is massive in comparison to a dental xray. The amount of radiation you receive is equivilent to many thousands of dental xrays.
Despite these doses of radiation, Radiosurgery has been performed for decades and the risk of other tumours has been proved to be extremely low.
The fact that many people have been exposed to doses of radiation many thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times greater to the head than current dental xrays, either as nuclear industry workers, nuclear accidents, atomic bomb testing, radiosurgery, regular CT Scans of the head, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chenobyl, demonstrates that dental xrays are likely to pose minimal risks
There is a risk, just like there is a risk of going outside and getting a melanoma from sunlight.
We need to put these risks in perspective.
If we use the sunshine analogy getting a dental xray is probably about the same as going outside with a hat and sunscreen on and sitting in the shade.. some of us will still get melanoma from doing this.
Radiosurgery is going to a beach once with no sunscreen and getting sunburnt with bilsters, which does significantly raise the risk of melanoma..
Whole Brain Radiotherapy, Nuclear Accident Clean up workers. Atomic Tests.
Is like going to a nudist beach every day of you life and getting sunburnt every day and you have red hair and freckles and in your spare time you go to a sun bed.
Despite all of that you might still die of a heart attack.
Exposure to radiation which includes going outside, always poses some risk.
We all need to have an understanding of what is acceptible risk and how that impacts our lives.
We should not be afraid of acceptible risk. Just as we should not be afraid of going outside.. (going outside is after all far more dangerous than staying inside all day)
Dental xrays, and radiosurgery are considered by many to be an acceptible risk.
So go outside, enjoy the sunshine, and accept acceptible risk.
If something goes wrong while you are outside, accept that being outside is slightly dangerous, but its a better quality of life than being inside all day.
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Few things to note
Scientists have known for a long time that xrays can be harmful and can cause cancer and tumours.
This is why the dentists and radiologists are nowhere to be seen when the xray is taken, and they wear those dosimeter films.
Over the years xray machines have improved incredibly and are now tuned to the frequency that exposes film the best, rather than spewing xrays of all different frequencies all over the place.
Film sensitivity is much better too.
So the amount of radiation you receive in an xray today is much less than what you received 40 years ago.
So even after further studies and a link between dental xrays and meningioma is established, it could be that it is only for people that had xrays of old.
As for FSR and Cyberknife. Its the same sort of xray radiation, in fact if you undergo FSR in particular the amount of radiation you receive is massive in comparison to a dental xray. The amount of radiation you receive is equivilent to many thousands of dental xrays.
Despite these doses of radiation, Radiosurgery has been performed for decades and the risk of other tumours has been proved to be extremely low.
The fact that many people have been exposed to doses of radiation many thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times greater to the head than current dental xrays, either as nuclear industry workers, nuclear accidents, atomic bomb testing, radiosurgery, regular CT Scans of the head, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chenobyl, demonstrates that dental xrays are likely to pose minimal risks
There is a risk, just like there is a risk of going outside and getting a melanoma from sunlight.
We need to put these risks in perspective.
If we use the sunshine analogy getting a dental xray is probably about the same as going outside with a hat and sunscreen on and sitting in the shade.. some of us will still get melanoma from doing this.
Radiosurgery is going to a beach once with no sunscreen and getting sunburnt with bilsters, which does significantly raise the risk of melanoma..
Whole Brain Radiotherapy, Nuclear Accident Clean up workers. Atomic Tests.
Is like going to a nudist beach every day of you life and getting sunburnt every day and you have red hair and freckles and in your spare time you go to a sun bed.
Despite all of that you might still die of a heart attack.
Exposure to radiation which includes going outside, always poses some risk.
We all need to have an understanding of what is acceptible risk and how that impacts our lives.
We should not be afraid of acceptible risk. Just as we should not be afraid of going outside.. (going outside is after all far more dangerous than staying inside all day)
Dental xrays, and radiosurgery are considered by many to be an acceptible risk.
So go outside, enjoy the sunshine, and accept acceptible risk.
If something goes wrong while you are outside, accept that being outside is slightly dangerous, but its a better quality of life than being inside all day.
My thoughts but could not put it in words ... My motto everything in moderation...If it is going to happen it is meant to be .. You wonder why some have it and some do not they probably had the same amount of x-rays as an AN'er... my sister for one had major problems with her teeth and always being tested with x-rays yearly and sometimes a few extra in between and she is 8 years older than me and thank God she does not have an AN but I do and I do not go to the dentist usually at 5 years intervals hate the dentist !
Best Wishes,
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I'm just thankful it's benign.
Karen
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My wife was an Dental Hygienist back in the 70's and 80's before she became a full time mom. We discussed this story last night at the dinner table. She told me that back in her day the x-ray machine spewed out a wider beam then what they have today. She said the machines really focus on the small area required for x-rays. As many of you have already mentioned, dental x-rays are very small doses of radiation. Having said that, I asked my wife why the dental office still places a lead covering over your torso, why don't they have some form of lead covering for the head and brain? And the assistant always leaves the room which makes me wonder. But let's face it, we don't want to be exposed to the x-rays everyday as the assistant could potentially be. So my suggestions, be cognizant of all your x-ray exposure, both dental and medical and try to keep it at a minimum year to year.
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I'm with you Suu.
I think we need to take the good and the bad. If we stopped doing everything that was 'bad' for us we would never live. Every thing in moderation
;D
Love to you all and remember to ''live''
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Okay, it looks like I've accomplished my goal of sparking dialogue about this. ;D
Kudos to Paul W for his particularly exhaustive and enlightening perspective.
Personally, I like to limit my exposure to radiation whenever possible. But I agree that dental X-rays do have important benefits and are less dangerous than they used to be.
Just to cap this discussion: Flying in a jet airliner also exposes you to radiation (and compresses and decompresses your internal organs, which can't be good for you). And the airline food will kill you... ;D
Best wishes to all,
TW
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This study says nothing about dental x-rays and acoustic neuromas.
I think it's possible that dental x-rays can contribute to ANs, but I don't think it's logical.
I'm one of five children and while I've had dental x-rays for routine things and for orthodontia work, my siblings had no less than I did. So, why was I the one "gifted" with the acoustic neuroma? Just the luck of the draw?
I still say that ANs (like sh*t) just happen.
That's my theory!
Jan