Tuesday, November 23, 2010

NY TIMES -- too much radiation of our children at dentists

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/us/23scan.html?_r=1&hp

This is a very important article for parents to read. In our world today, we are constantly being bombarded with radiation of all kinds, and it has recently increased even more because of the more powerful airport scanners now in operation in many airports across our country (soon to be in ALL of them).  I refuse X-rays when I go to the dentist.  The dentists aren't happy about that, but I've been exposed to way too much radiation in my lifetime (we used to have X-ray machines in shoe stores when I was a kid. You would put your feet in them to see how shoes fit you. You could actually see the bones in your feet, and we would do it over and over again).  In my opinion, our brains and common sense have not caught up with our technology.  Grandparents, please pass this information along to your kids.

EXCERPT:
Because children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to radiation, doctors three years ago mounted a national campaign to protect them by reducing diagnostic radiation to only those levels seen as absolutely necessary.

It is a message that has resonated in many clinics and hospitals. Yet there is one busy place where it has not: the dental office.

Not only do most dentists continue to use outmoded X-ray film requiring higher amounts of radiation, but orthodontists and other specialists are embracing a new scanning device that emits significantly more radiation than conventional methods, an examination by The New York Times has found.



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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had surgery several years ago and when we reviewed my medical bills we found that I had over a period of time a total of 54 x-rays, cat scans and one pet scan I do not allow my dentist to take x-rays of my teeth. If I were to travel by plane I would not allow the TSA to scan my body. Enough is enough.