Dental X-Rays: Is Yearly Exposure Causing Meningioma?

The correlation between dental x-rays and brain tumors can no longer be denied.

The Health Coach has routinely rejected a request from his many dentists over the years to submit for yearly dental x-rays on the basis that such over-exposure to ionizing radiation could/would come back to haunt. And so it has come back to haunt many, especially those who were exposed to the x-rays at younger ages and for longer periods of time.

The following excerpt from a recent article entitled “Dental X-Rays Linked To Common Brain Tumor, Study Finds” is very telling:

“The new findings are important because dental X-rays are the most common source of exposure to ionizing radiation among residents of the United States, according to the study’s authors. And while they write that full-mouth and bitewing X-rays are associated with lower levels of exposure than other types of medical imaging, the No. 1 environmental — and generally modifiable — risk factor for meningioma is exposure to ionizing radiation.”

We’re all born into this dental status quo which requires that we avail ourselves to certain dental procedures, dental materials and oral hygiene techniques. They are foisted on us from a very young age, especially for those who are unfortunate to be plagued by dental problems. Our parents only ‘knew’ that the dentist was the expert and could be trusted in the rendering of all advice regarding our teeth.

When most of us look back on the evolution of our teethscape what we now see is a virtual battleground-in-progess, one in which we have most likely lost most of the battles, and quite possibly the war. How so?

The mouth is the gateway into the body and therefore eminently important to our overall health. Much of what ails us either begins in the mouth or finds its root causes in the degree of oral health (or lack thereof) which we enjoy. Therefore, this is fundamentally a story about how the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. By that we mean that anecdotal evidence has proven conclusively that those who make more visits to the dentist for various and sundry checkups, procedures, cleanings, x-rays, etc. will experience more ill health than those who don’t.

This is especially true, the younger the individual. Because a younger developing body is more sensitive and vulnerable to the many toxicities associated with all things dental. What do we mean by toxicities?

Everything associated with the following dental procedures and materials has a certain level of toxicity associated with it:
• Mercury amalgam fillings
• Root canals
• Composite fillings
• Crowns and Caps
• Bridges
• Implants
• Dentures
• Fluoride treatments

Even the standard teeth cleaning method used in virtually every dental office has some major problems with it. For instance those who have one or two a year risk having much enamel stripped away by the rotating brushes and abrasive paste that has been in use for many decades.

This digression from dental x-rays was only meant to make you aware of what can go very wrong in the dental office. Informed consent forms the bedrock within every sphere of the healthcare system. However, full disclosure and client feedback rarely takes place because of how dentists simply take control of our mouth from a very tender age on. Truly, it is their way or the highway and the The Health Coach has either terminated or been terminated enough times to support this claim.

Back to dental x-rays and the article entitled “Dental X-Rays Linked To Common Brain Tumor, Study Finds“. Here’s another excerpt worth contemplating:

“Adults who developed brain tumors were more than twice as likely to say that they had bitewing X-rays yearly, if not more frequently, according to the findings. Bitewing X-rays, which require patients to bite down on an X-ray film holder, show the crowns of the upper and lower teeth at the same time.

The researchers also found a link between the tumors and panorex dental exams, which use an X-ray outside the mouth to take a broad image of a patient’s full mouth and are often used to look at problems such as infections and fractures. The increased risk of meningioma was particularly pronounced among individuals who were younger than 10 when they received the exam.”

As we said, the more (and younger we are when) we expose ourselves to dental x-rays, the more dental procedures we have in our mouth, the more dental material that we allow to be permanently placed in our teeth (or positioned in our mouths like braces), the greater the likelihood of serious health problems down the road.

Dr. Keith L. Black, chairman and professor in the department of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was quoted in the same article as follows: “But the reflex to get one [dental x-ray} every year is overexposing one to X-rays. And these are going to the base of the brain, toward the base of the skull.”

The very same Dr. Black asserted “that he regularly refuses imaging at the dentist’s office.” Now that’s telling!

May you enjoy great health!
The Health Coach

Required Reading:

“Root Canal Coverup” by Dr. George Meinig, DDS

“It’s All In Your Head” by Dr. Hal Huggins, DDS

“Tooth Truth” by Dr. Frank Jerome, DDS

“Whole-Body Dentistry: Discover The Missing Piece To Better Health” by Mark Breiner

“The Cure For All Diseases” by Dr. Hulda Clark

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