Re: Dental X-Rays Might Lead to Small Babies

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

When articles are published, all the journal is doing

is report the results that an author has submitted.  

They will have the article "peer reviewed," which I

assume means that other writers or researchers check

to see if the information makes sense.  However, that

is a far cry from verifying the results.  



For many studies, you may never hear about this study

or conclusion again.  ALternately, the news media will

pick it up and there will be a flurry of stories. 

Another set of researchers will review the data and

say "hogwash."  However, the public may not hear about

the second study.



My feeling is that this a tyical "first-order" study. 

Like a summer school project, a lot of data is

collected, analyzed and published.  However, the data

needs to be reviewed and adjustments for confounding

factors, like nutrition, second-hand smoking, etc.,

need to be made.  



However, this study did make the news, so I am sure it

will be cited in the future.



--- Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net> wrote:

> Here is a link to an article regarding potential

> health effects on both 

> fetus and mother from visiting a dentist while

> pregnant: 

>

http://pregnancytoday.com/reference/articles/pregdental.htm

> .  It states 

> that:

> 

> "The amount of radiation received from a set of 21

> dental radiographs is 

> approximately 3 millirems. What the heck is a

> millirem? Three millirems 

> are equivalent to about 4 days of exposure to

> radiation received 

> naturally from the environment (i.e. sun). A study

> done in 1983 from the 

> Nationwide Evaluation of X-ray Trends Tabulations

> states that the 

> probability of congenital anomalies and childhood

> malignancies from this 

> amount of radiation is practically nonexistent. The

> double lead shield 

> with a thyroid protector will reduce exposure even

> more."

> 

> A question I have is whether radiation exposure has

> ever been shown to 

> cause low-birthweight babies?  Surely there are

> studies out there that 

> look at the effects of higher levels of exposure.

> 

> In a Google search on studies of pregnant dental

> assistants, mercury 

> vapor from amalgams didn't have an adverse effect on

> fetal development 

> (in fact, dental assistants didn't have babies with

> problems--including 

> low birthrate--at a rate any different from the

> general population).  

> However, a patient may also be exposed to a variety

> of other substances 

> during dental work, including anesthetics,

> antibiotics, and fluoride 

> treatments.  I'd like to know if the JAMA study

> controlled for exposure 

> to these, especially in the first trimester..

> 

> Susan Gawarecki

. . .



=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"Those who have not known the joy of standing up for a great cause of justice have not known what makes living worthwhile."

Paul Painleve, regarding the Dreyfus Affair, 1895



-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com





	

		

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