A study published in Cancer says that people who have received frequent dental X-rays in the past have an increased risk of developing the most commonly diagnosed primary brain tumour, meningioma.1

Researchers in Boston studied information from 1,433 patients who were diagnosed with meningioma aged 20-79 in 2006-2011. The investigators also studied information from a control group of 1,350 who had similar characteristics but who had not been diagnosed with a meningioma.

Over a lifetime, patients with meningioma were more than twice as likely as controls to report having ever had a bitewing exam. Individuals who reported receiving bitewing exams on a yearly or more frequent basis were 1.4-1.9 times as likely to develop meningioma as controls.

An increased risk of meningioma was also linked with panorex exams taken at a young age or on a yearly or more frequent basis. Individuals who reported receiving these exams when they were under ten years old had a 4.9 times increased risk of developing meningioma. Those who reported receiving them on a yearly or more frequent basis were 2.7-3.0 times as likely to develop meningioma as controls.

Moderate use of this form of imaging may therefore be of benefit to some patients. However, the researchers noted that today's dental patients are exposed to lower doses of radiation than in the past.