Thyroid Cancer and Dental X-rays are Unrelated - Dental Health Magazine

Many individuals believe that dental X-rays can increase the risk for developing thyroid cancer. However, here are a few things you should know right before you start dwelling on the same question:

One of the most important things is not to rely on your medical/health education from what is being said on TV shows. These are most of the times sensational in nature only, many times presenting topics and hypotheses that are meant to scare the average viewer.

According to chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, Dr. Otis W. Brawley, the technology of cancer detection has gotten so professional and reliable that today it is possible to spot cancer types that 15 years ago would not even be diagnosed as health conditions.

This is the main reason why there are so many types of thyroid cancers available today.

It has been already medically proven that there is no link existent between mammograms or dental X-rays and the apparition of thyroid cancer. It is simply technology that evolved so much, it is able to pick up and recognize a greater variety of cancers in the human body.

The doctor further reveals that nowadays they even find types of cancers that do not pose any kind of health risk for the patients, so advanced these technologies have gotten.

Further, this fact is also backed by Dr. Leonard Wartofsky who is a thyroid cancer specialist and who has conducted a JAMA Study back in 2006. He advises the following:

• People should choose a dentist who uses the digital X-ray technology (less exposure to radiation)
• Also to choose dentists that can offer a lead apron with thyroid collar during the X-ray

He further states, that indeed there might be a very slight chance, almost inexistent of developing thyroid cancer from too much exposure to dental X-rays, but then how about thinking more about the risks that are there with you everyday?

These include over eating, smoking, drinking and not making any physical exercise, all of which are by far a greater risk of developing the disease than from an X-ray examination.