Young orthodontic patients are bombarded with huge radiation doses

Brace yourself!

As if the physical and emotional torture of getting braces weren’t enough, it turns out it could pose a long-term danger for our kids as well. You see, with all those visits to be fitted and then to have their braces checked, they’ve probably been exposed to staggering levels of radiation.

And what’s worse: All that exposure is completely unnecessary.

For this you can thank technological progress. And we’ve seen this familiar story many times before: Progress rushes in, fueled by huge profits, while safety oversight comes poking along, way too late.

But it’s never too late to take action now and just say, “NO!”

Dangerous fun

The new technology is an imaging tool called a cone-beam CT scan. Dentists like it because it creates crisp 3-D images of the jaw and teeth, including roots. This is useful for complex problems like impacted teeth.

And kids actually like CT scan too because of what one orthodontist calls the “wow factor.” On the computer display, kids can see their entire skull in vibrant colors.

As the orthodontist told the New York Times: “Fun for the kids.”

Fun…but dangerous.

A Times investigation reveals that this ingenious scanning method emits a massive radiation dose–much more radiation than a conventional x-ray. And it’s a huge risk for kids, because children–especially adolescents–are much more vulnerable to the effects of radiation than adults.

The enhanced detail of a CT scan image is helpful for orthodontists. But over the course of braces maintenance, patients usually get several scans. And unfortunately, scientists believe the effects of these powerful scans are cumulative. So the long-term risk of cancer is doubled
after the second scan, tripled after the third, etc.

Now…here’s what’s infuriating: Orthodontists and dentists can also produce 3-D images with a digital camera that emits no radiation. But using the digital camera takes about a half-hour longer than the CT scan. And those half-hours add up, preventing orthodontists from booking higher numbers of patients each day.

Fueled by misinformation

But there’s one more detail about dental CT scans that actually goes WAY beyond infuriating. (My dentist would NOT be happy with me right now because I’m actually grinding my teeth as I write this.)

The selling of cone-beam CT technology has been outright dishonest.

In an online lecture earlier this year, a prominent 3-D technology expert who gives frequent professional presentations told attendees that the CT scan produces no more radiation than airport full-body scans.

But the director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center told the Times that such an estimate is “very wrong–by a lot.” In fact, he says CT scanners can be SEVERAL HUNDRED TIMES more powerful than those controversial new airport scanners.

Unfortunately, this wildly misleading “estimate” is fairly popular.

An article in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association stated that radiation from a CT scan is equal to–yep–an airport full-body scan.

Funny thing though: That entire JADA issue was devoted to cone-beam technology. In fact, the issue was actually underwritten by one of the leading makers of CT scanners.

Arrrgh! The dental mainstream is just as bad as the medical mainstream!

Here’s how the Times sums it up: “The cone beam’s popularity has been fueled in part by misinformation about its safety and efficacy.”

“Misinformation?” That’s a tactful way of saying what it really is: lies.

Please warn your friends and family about this travesty– especially those who have kids who may soon be headed to their first orthodontist appointment. But this warning is for everyone–not just kids. The next time your dentist needs to x-ray your teeth, ask him what technology he’s using.

If he says, “cone-beam,” tell him you don’t mind taking the extra half-hour for the digital camera–or that you’re willing to skip the special effects altogether.

Sources:
“Radiation Worries for Children in Dentists’ Chairs” Walt Bogdanich and Jo Craven McGinty, New York Times, 11/22/10, nytimes.com