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HEALTH NEWS FOR AMERICANS

2010-09-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Article from Health News U.S 28th August 2010

Are Some Problems Not Detectable by Dental X-Rays?

August 28th, 2010 | admin | 0 Comments »

Dental X-Rays are an important part of a dental health program, allowing dentists to detect tooth decay, abscesses, cysts, gum disease, bone loss, and root canal problems. There are several types of dental x-rays in use in North America. Most dental health problems can be detected by an x-ray; however, there are a few conditions that cannot be detected by an x-ray.

The bite-wing and periapical x-ray has been in use by dentists for decades. They give a close view of the teeth and the underlying root and bone supporting the teeth. They are most helpful in detecting decay on and betweenteeth. Newer are the panoramic x-rays, which give a whole-mouth view.

Panoramic x-rays will detect problems with the upper or lower jaw, the jaw joints, nasal sinuses and surrounding tissue, or the mandibular nerve. Oral cancer will not be detected with a bite-wing or periapical x-ray. The dentist is able to do a screening for oral cancer during a regular check-up, examining the cheeks, floor and roof of the mouth, and the surface and base of the tongue. Oral cancer will most often look like small lesions on any of those soft tissues.

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD or TMJ) is another condition that can be detected on a panoramic x-ray, but not the bite-wing or periapical. TMD is a condition related to the jaw. Often people suffering TMD hear a clicking or popping accompanied by pain when they open their mouths. It has many causes; arthritis, injury or stress. The muscles of the face often tense when we are under stress, and this pulls the muscles of the jaw taut, causing pain when using those muscles. TMD can also be a cause of headache or toothache. Sometimes it manifests as pain around the ear when chewing, neck, shoulder or back pain, or difficulty opening the mouth wide, or even dizziness.

Sinus problems can cause toothache, and will be visible on a panoramic x-ray. Your dentist will ask questions to help narrow down the cause of the pain, and avoid unnecessary dental treatment. Other oral conditions that will not be detected by x-ray are burning mouth or burning tongue, often caused by nutritional deficiencies, and facial neuralgia caused by damaged nerves to the face.

Bulimia experienced over a period of time can cause damage to the enamel of teeth because of the acids produced when purging. Oral infections such as mouth thrush will not show on an x-ray. Many of these conditions will be visible to the dentist while doing a routine exam, and a complete health history will be an important tool for the dentist when diagnosing problems in the mouth. Sometime tooth decay will not be seen on an x-ray, if it is on a surface at the back, tongue side of a tooth. Sometimes during scaling or root planing, a treatment for periodontal disease will reveal decay not visible on a routine x-ray.

Dental X-Rays are an important part of making sure that you do not have any serious or developing problems. It is important that everyone has dental X-rays as part of their dental care visit.

DIGITAL RADIATION DANGERS - SUE'S OVERDOSE

2010-08-20T12:49:00.001-07:00

"I want to cancel my radiation badge service, because we are switching to digital, and my service tech tells me that digital is totally safe."

We attempt to get these misinformed customers to keep their badge service, because there is a learning curve using any new technology, and to insure that both employee procedure and machine are operating correctly. Because we see thousands of dose reports, we have been able to document many instances where, after switching to digital, exposure has been extremely high. Just like you automatically retake photos without a thought with a digital camara, x-ray technicians commonly click off 4-5 retakes with digital x-ray systems, while in the room with the patients, thinking it is "safe." However, this process over exposes both patient and employee more than standard x-ray radiation.

One of the reports we have which document this misuse, shows after switching to digital, an employee who we have named Sue, received over 5,000 mrem during the first month of using a digital system (more than the annual allowable occupational dose). After speaking with the dentist, we found out that he thought digital was "totally safe," and he instructed the employee that it was OK to stand in the room while in the room with the patient. We wanted to speak with the employee directly, however the doctor did not allow this. We never knew if the dentist ever told the employee that she was overexposed, and subsequently the doctor cancelled the radiation monitoring badge service.

Obviously radiation badges can save lives, and minimize future adverse health problems especially for women in child bearing ages, if they are routinely used, and if the dose reports are paid attention to, and if appropriate corrections are made to both operating procedures and machine maintenance.

radiation overdose links in the press - ILLINOIS MEDICAL BLOG 4th Aug 2010

2010-08-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Inadequate safety measures, supervision and operation of X ray machines can be fatal - no amount of radiation is safe. This article admits that overdose is an all too common medical mistake.

http://medicalmalpractice.levinperconti.com/2010/08/radiation_overdose_is_common_m.html

radiation overdose links in the press - NY TIMES 31st July 2010

2010-08-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

Horrific photos of the effects of overexposure to radiation. In these photos, CT scan patients have been left partially bald by the overdose.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/health/01radiation.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=igw&pagewanted=all

radiation overdose links in the press - PRESS TELEGRAM 13th June 2010

2010-08-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

Americans radiation doseage reported to have risen 6 fold in recent years. Americans get most medical radiation in the world.

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_15291666

radiation overdose links in the press - LA TIMES 3rd Aug 2010

2010-08-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

LA county hospitals exposed for radiation overdose of stroke scan patients.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/03/local/la-me-stroke-scans-20100803-21

radiation overdose links in the press - NEWS INFERNO 1st Aug 2010

2010-08-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

New details emerge in the CT scan overdose fiasco in this article, the hospitals should have known how to safely use the automatic feature.

http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/22550

radiation overdose links in the press - FIERCE HEALTH.COM 2nd Aug 2010

2010-08-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Stroke scan overdoses reported in California and in Alabama.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/stroke-scan-patients-receive-radiation-overdose-serious-health-risks/2010-08-02

radiation overdose links in the press - NPR 4th August 2010

2010-08-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Since the Cedars Sinai scandal, the FDA have found more CT radiation overdoses at hospitals, the FDA have come up with some recommendations to minimize radiation risks for hospitals performing CT perfusion scans.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/12/fda_investigation_finds_more_e.html

radiation overdose links in the press - TELEGRAPH 4th June 2010

2010-08-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Another British newspaper exposes the thyroid cancer issue..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7802609/Dental-X-ray-link-to-thyroid-cancer.html

radiation overdose links in the press - MEDICAL NEWS TODAY 6th June 2010

2010-08-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Article from Medical News Today about the link between thyroid cancer and dental x rays.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/191025.php

radiation overdose links in the press - DAILY MAIL 8th June 2010

2010-08-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Article from British Newspaper The Daily Mail about the link between dental x rays and thyroid cancer. This article has an interview with a survivor of thyroid cancer, Dick Handscombe - who believes that dental x rays cumulative radiation caused his thyroid cancer.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1284843/Just-safe-X-rays-dentist.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1283393/Ten-dental-X-rays-raise-cancer-risk.html

radiation overdose links in the press -LIVE CITIZEN 2nd June 2010

2010-08-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Another article, this time from Live Citizen about the clear risk of thyroid cancer from excessive, unmonitored dental x rays.

http://www.livecitizen.com/2010/06/dental-xrays-increase-risk-thyroid-cancer/

radiation overdose links in the press - WORLD DENTAL 26th April 2010

2010-08-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

First news of the link between Thyroid Cancer and dental X rays in the press.

http://worldental.org/dental-news/thyroid-cancer-risks-increased-by-dental-x-rays/1289/

radiation overdose links in the press - CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE 21st April 2010

2010-08-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Article about the cell phone radiation bill. Senate Bill 1212, sponsored by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), requires cell phone retailers to label phones with the level of radiation they emit, measured by the specific absorption rate (SAR). That label will be prominently displayed on the retail shelf, next to the phone´s purchase price.

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/152300

radiation overdose links in the press - SPECTRUM March 2010

2010-08-05T15:43:00.001-07:00

X ray full body scanners article.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/imaging/xray-body-scanners-arriving-at-airports

radiation overdose links in the press - BALTIMORE SUN 20th March 2010

2010-08-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

Article about the Maryland Department of the Environment fining John Hopkins Hospital $370,000 for improper radiation equipment handling and useage.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-03-20/news/bal-md.radiationmar20_1_radiation-state-agency-fines-patient

radiation overdose links in the press - NUCLEAR NEWS 1st March 2010

2010-08-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Medical radiation is useful, it is vital in many cases - however it is a dangerous and must be regulated.

http://nuclear-news.net/2010/03/02/medical-radiation-useful-but-also-dangerous/

radiation overdose links in the press - 5th Feb 2010

2010-08-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

An article from Bloomberg about the health concern raised by full body scanners at airports. Of course, the companies who supply the machines and the airports themselves deny that there is any harm in having a full body x ray each time we fly - they have an obvious monetary interest in promoting these machines as being safe. However, what can we expect in years to come, when frequent flyers and cabin crew report health issues brought on by routine scanning?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aoG.YbbvnkzU

radiation overdose links in the press - DOTMED NEWS 4th Feb 2010

2010-08-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

article about the effect of radiation on DNA

http://www.dotmed.com/news/story/11547/

radiation overdose links in the press - 26th Jan 2010

2010-08-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

More news from the NY Times of patients being administered overdoses of radiation. The article exposes the lack of safety regulations put in place to protect patients, something that IC Care can help with. In this article we read that the overdoses continued for months because the hospital had no system in place to catch the errors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/27radiation.html

radiation overdose links in the press -NY TIMES Jan 24th 2010

2010-08-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

The heart wrenching story of Scott Jerome Parks, who received fatal doses of radiation at a NY hospital as he underwent treatment for tongue cancer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/health/24radiation.html

radiation overdose links in the press - 2nd Aug 2010

2010-08-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

A consistent blog by the New York Times highlighting developments and news about radiation including overdoses, laws and equipment.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/radiation/

radiation overdose links in the press - ABC news 26th Jan 2010

2010-08-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

Article about San Francisco board of supervisors considering a law that would require cell phone retailers to list the level of every phone in the city.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7240309

radiation overdose links in the press - NY TIMES 15th October 2010

2010-08-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Interesting article from the NY Times highlighting the dangers of CT scans, including information about a CT scan operator who activated a scan 151 times on the same area of a child's head!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/us/16radiation.html

radiation overdose links in the press - LA TIMES 14th Oct 2009

2010-08-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

Follow up article from the LA Times about the Cedars Sinai overdose scandal.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/14/local/me-cedars-sinai14

radiation overdose links in the press - LA TIMES 10th Oct 2009

2010-08-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

A sensational article from the LA Times about the scandal of radiation overdose from CT scanning at the popular Cedars Sinai hospital. This article has had numerous repercussions throughout the medical and health industry, leading us to question - just how safe is any dose of radiation? Radiation is cummulative, and the horrific events at cedars sinai ought to make people think more about monitoring their doseage.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/10/local/me-cedars-sinai10

radiation overdose links in the press - FOX NEWS 9th June 2009

2010-08-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Fox News article about the dangers of sunbeds and radiation over exposure. The article states that UV exposure can often be poorly monitored by salon staff who are not necessarily trained in the dangers of radiation and how to regulate it for safe doseage - of course, one way would be by using a monitoring badge from IC Care!

http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Beauty/Shedding+Some+Light+on+Your+Suntan

DENTAL RADIATION LINK TO THYROID CANCER - INTERVIEW WITH A SURVIVOR

2010-07-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Each digital shot is about 75% less of the standard cone beam x-ray. You would think that the lower dose would benefit everyone operating and receiving an x-ray, but we are seeing higher exposures to both patients and x-ray technicians. There are at least 2 reasons for this phenomenon: 1. Taking digital x-rays is technique sensitive, and it is common for the technician to have to shoot 4-5 retakes. This overexposes patients to more than standard x-ray radiation. (Relate this information with your own digital camera. Because it is so easy to retake photos we take a lot more shots with our digital cameras than we did with our old film cameras). 2. Even though digital is “safer” than standard x-rays, there is no “safe” dose of radiation. However, because they believe the lower doses will not adversely affect their health, technicians are staying in the room with the patients (something few would do with standard x-rays) and clicking the button again, and again, and again which exposes them to more radiation than ever.

A simple solution to knowing if patient and dental office staff are being over exposed to radiation is to use radiation monitors. High tech x-ray badges are now available to provide exposure doses instantly with USB computer connection built into the badge. In the dental office or at home, the wearer can check their radiation via a website as often as they like to insure their environment is safe, and or that they have been following safe operating procedures.

I have seen monthly technician exposure reports with readings higher than the total annual allowable employee exposure allowed by OSHA. The State of Maryland reported that this phenomenon is causing “undue exposure for the public.” Some States (like CA, CO, NC) have required anyone using x-ray equipment to have a Radiation Safety Program in place. We have heard news about medical radiation overdoses sickening and even killing patients. Tanning lights, cell phones, microwaves, and other radiation producing gadgets are reported to cause cancer and other radiation induced diseases. Recently, a man with cancer in his salivary gland filed a lawsuit against his dentist because he believed he over radiated him with unnecessary x-rays. Here is his story…

'[Dick Handscombe from London was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary glands in 1993 after having multiple x rays as a child and adult. He has no doubt that unmonitored, repeat x rays are dangerous. “I used to have X rays all the time, if you went for a filling it was unlikely that you didnt have an X ray” he says. It wasn't until 1993 when he was waking every morning with a mouthful of blood and could feel a lump in his mouth that he was referred to a specialist who confirmed that he had cancer of the salivary gland. One of the first questions the doctor asked Dick was how many X rays he had had as a child. Exposure, particularly in childhood, is an acknowledged risk factor for thyroid cancer. Cancer survivor Dick believes that the risk of repeated unprotected dental X rays is too great. After two rounds of surgery to remove a tumour from his salivary gland and surrounding lymph nodes, he was given the all clear and advised to refuse dental X rays in the future. We spoke with Dick about ht edander of cummulative radiation, its implications for patients as well as dental staff and how we can protect ourselves using radiation monitoring badges.

Are you currently seeking legal compensation from your dentist for what has happened to you?

I could but I believe the radiation accumulated from decades of dentist visits. I was visiting doctors years ago who were using 1940s technology, there is no one dentist who can be blamed for this, since I have probably visited nine separate dentists throughout the course of my life when living and working in various different places. The cancer built up over these years as my X ray exposure went unmonitored.

If you had had the option as a patient to wear an x ray monitoring badge to all your dental visits, would you have accepted it?

Absolutely. X ray monitoring badges are a great idea. This would be ideal for patients.

Do you think dental radiation monitoring services should be pushed to the greater public, not just dental assistants and dentists themselves?

Dentist now claim there is a very low risk of harmful radiation with the newest machines and technology, but then observe that they still do not stay in the room themselves when they are taking x rays since radiation is cummulative , but why should this differ for a patient who has to make multiple visits a year to a dentist? So yes, patients should wear these badges as well, but ultimately its the dentists decision if they purchase and use this safety device.

Do you think that dentist using digital xrays are posing a greater risk to the general public?

There is a lot of proof that radiation can affect you, so yes. The fact that you can click a hundred times and think its safe because its digital is absurd, no amount is safe.

how is your current health, are you feeling better? Have you received treatment already?

My health is currently good, I have now avoided having x rays for 17 years. I have just celebrated my fifth year of cancer survival and am looking forward to taking my first pension.

Additional sources: The Daily Mail Health June 8 2010

Full Mouth Prophy…No Guilt!

2010-01-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

CPR™ Sapphire Prophy Paste now has a smoother, splatter resistant formula. To replace rough pumice & expensive composite pastes, CPR™ is safe for routine maintenance of veneers, restores brilliance to dull crowns, removes up to 4 shades of stain from composites, & cleans & polishes natural teeth & all other surfaces as quickly as coarse pumice, with less abrasivity than some daily use toothpastes. 1 micron uniform Sapphire spherical composition makes CPR™ perfect for non-abrasive routine mixed mouth prophylaxis, & as a final step after placement & adjustments & to maintain all cosmetic restorations. Routine polishing with CPR™ creates super smooth surfaces, making it difficult for adhesion of biofilm, which minimizes stain & caries.

for more info contact:

Phone: 310-531-7581 Fax: 877 4775186 1750 W. Cameron /ave. #106, W. Covina, CA 91790

IC care's first blog

2010-01-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

we have a great concern about radiation awareness in dentistry. The popularity of digital x-ray systems has brought with it great apathy and disregard for radiation safety. Being a distributor of radiation monitoring badges, we are seeing extremely dangerous high over-exposures to women of childbearing ages. The State of Maryland has published their findings of dental offices misusing digital equipment and “unnecessary overexposure to the public.” There have been several national digital overdose stories in the media. We would like to deliver an article entitled, “Dangers in the Digital Office,” to address national findings, and recommend safe use of all radiation producing equipment. Would you publication be open to this?

Lastly, our company is doing its very best to reduce our environmental impact and “Go Green.” We have utilized technology, organization, and common sense to lower our overall company impact by about 70%. We would also like to share our, “High Tech Green” story.