The surprising and very serious dental x-ray danger that is easy to solve with one request at your dentist visit by using a thyroid guard.
I don’t get dental x-rays very often, certainly not every six months like most dentists seem to recommend even for children. I don’t buy the argument that “you get more radiation walking to your car than what you get from this digital x-ray machine.”
Doesn’t that sound like the hollow argument the TSA uses that you will get more radiation from the airplane flight itself than from the naked body scanners?
Oh, is that why there is a cancer cluster among TSA agents in Boston and why Europe has outright banned them then?
Oops, sorry. Off on a bit of a mental tangent. Back to the dental x-rays.
If dental x-rays were so harmless, why do they put a big lead suit over you and the technician is sure to step out of the room when the x-rays are taken?
The fact is that anyone who has taken a basic high school Physics class knows that radiation comes in many forms (can we say electromagnetic spectrum?). You can’t compare the radiation from the sun with the radiation from an x-ray machine that takes pictures of your bones.
Completely different forms of radiation!
That being said, sometimes you really do need to get dental x-rays for whatever reason.
If you find yourself in a situation where dental x-rays are needed, be sure to insist that you or your child are given a thyroid guard when the x-rays are taken.
In the picture above, you will see that the child has a lead suit over his body in preparation for the dental x-rays, but where oh where is the thyroid guard?
Nowhere to be seen!
Most dental technicians don’t use one unless the patient specifically asks for it. Given that thyroid cancer is on the rise and that there are so many assaults on this delicate, butterfly-shaped organ in our modern life from processed foods and environmental toxins, it is very important that you insist on thyroid protection whenever you get any sort of dental x-ray.
Oh, and I know. Snopes states that this claim is ridiculous. Who crowned Snopes the King of rumor control anyway?
Snopes is for dopes in my opinion. Snopes has no credibility given its constant defense of the food industry and Big Pharma. I wouldn’t be surprised if Snopes is somehow in the food or drug industry’s pocket in some form.
Dental X-Rays a Risk to the Thyroid
Studies have shown that women who are pregnant and have dental x-rays are at a higher risk for having small babies.
Study participants who had dental x-rays while pregnant were at double the risk of having a low birth weight baby born prematurely and triple the risk of having an underweight baby born full term.
This study involved 4,500 women who had babies between 1993 and 2000 and was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Philippe Hujoel, a professor of dental public health services at the University of Washington, said that it is unclear how the radiation might be affecting fetuses but conjectured that perhaps the thyroid gland in the pregnant women was somehow affected by the dental x-rays. He went on to say that previous studies have found an increased risk of low birth weight babies in women with mild thyroid disease.
Insist on That Thyroid Guard!
It is very important to insist on a thyroid guard whenever you or a loved one has a dental x-ray taken. This simple device should also be used during mammograms. But, it is best to not do them at all anyway. In a nutshell, always insist on no-radiation solutions like a thermogram or a breast ultrasound – never a mammogram!
Even Dr. Oz warns that repeated dental x-rays and mammograms can possibly contribute to an increase in thryoid cancer and that wearing one would be a wise move.
What’s it going to hurt to wear one, after all? There is absolutely no downside to this extra safety precaution.
If, after asking your dentist for a thyroid guard, you discover that he/she doesn’t even have one available, you can safely assume that it is time for you to find a new dentist!
Need a Dentist Who Won’t Push X-rays on Your Child?
I get many requests about who I recommend as a truly holistic, biological dentist. If you are looking for one, I recommend Dr. Carlo Litano of Natural-Smiles.com – (727) 300-0044. He sees young children as well as adults and does phone consults for those who don’t live close enough for an office visit. Be sure to tell Dr. Litano that The Healthy Home Economist sent you and get 10% off your first visit!
References
(1) Dental X-Rays Might Lead to Smaller Babies
(2) Repeated Dental Xrays without Neck Shielding Predispose to Thyroid Cancer
Do you need one even when you get digital x-rays?
YES.
The x-ray industry has been around a long time. Adolf Hitler’s regime had “scientists” performing all sorts of experiments on Jewish people before, during and/or after they were killed. Hopefully nobody says the x-rays are harmless. I’d like to see the dental insurance industry demand fewer, not more x-rays, be they digital or otherwise. An x-ray is an x-ray is an x-ray is RADIATION.
Madame Curie died a horrible death, and she sort of “invented” radiation…If you are old enough to know better, why would you subject your body systems to x-rays
I’m confused. I was able to avoid x-rays the last two times I went to the dentist–that was 3 years ago, because they told me I would have to get full mouth digital x-rays. Oh, hell no. And I haven’t been back since. SHAME ON THE DENTAL INDUSTRY for insisting on routine x-rays.
I have thyroid problems, and I have hydrocephalus, and I believe both were caused by dental x-rays. For a specific suspicion, maybe let your dentist take a bite-wing x-ray, but the idea of routinely burning your innards for the sake of paying off a machine that cost them a lot of money–the road to hell is paved with dental x-ray machine salespersons and the dentists who buy and use and abuse those machines.
I had no idea that you should ask for a thyroid guard when getting xrays at the dentist. It makes sense. Thank you for your article!
Most people don’t and it is irresponsible for dentists to not use them routinely. It is sheer laziness on their part, in my opinion.
This is such a simple and easy thing to do, I cannot understand why it is not required procedure.
Well, a reduction in the number of thyroid cancers would mean less drug sales, surgeries, and income for the medical industry and the drug companies.
Oh yes, the only thing that makes the dopes at Snopes experts in anything is their own marketing. They are just a husband and wife team who used to work as reporters.
…and a very liberal couple I have “heard”.
What does being liberal have to do with it?
I eat a lot of fiber, and I fancy myself conservative…I think everybody is full of crap. (:–)
I had a dental x-ray done at least twice a year for most of my childhood. I shudder to think of what the long-term health consequences might be. Indeed, your thyroid is delicate and the medical establishment would be wiser to pay more attention to it.
The medical industry pays plenty of attention to it–thyroid cancer removal, I was shunted (Brain) for hydrocephalus–who knows what other innards are damaged or destroyed by dental x-rays…my mom used to be a dental hygienist, and now they say she has Alzheimers…but I think she doesn’t orient herself because she is deaf–maybe x-rays cause deafness as well…
Snopes and Quackwatch – same thing. I actually go on Quackwatch to research new remedies.
That is really clever Helen! Very lateral thinking. I love it!
Helen, that is a great idea! I will follow your lead.
Thanks to you both for liking my idea. Actually, it was EASY – everything I googled aways listed a Quackwatch entry. Of course, when they dissed everything I hold sacred (homeopathy – their #1 pet peeve)…….I knew I was onto something!
Homeopathy uses poison–but in minute quantities, generally, and all for the good. X-rays will give a suntan to all the body parts you want to expose.
Hmm. My husband is just about to graduate from dental school. I’ll have to ask him if he has learned anything about this.
I had to tell the lady and I pulled the cape up. She goes “Oh, yeah.” But no guard, just the cape. Hmm…
I hope that your cape is made of lead to protect you.
Snopes does not claim this is false, but rather offers opinions from both viewpoints. I agree with yours, but always like to know the other argument.
one reason I love my dentist -he is ok with minimal xrays and asks if I want one or if I want my kids to have one -we are usually only getting an xray every 3 or 4 years !! Will ask about the thyroid guard!
We refuse dental xrays unless absolutely necessary.
Me too…too little too late…they are much less radiation nowadays, but you still have to weigh the benefits vs. the harm to your brain and other neck and facial organs.