Again sparking controversy among patients and medical professionals, we would like to address the recent topic of thyroid cancer as brought to light by the Dr. Oz show.

 If you missed it, Dr. Oz recently blamed dental x-rays and mammograms for the rise in thyroid cancer in women, and is advocating the use of a thyroid guard during these procedures.  Incidentally, and going unrecognized on the show, thyroid cancer for men is also on the rise, both since about 1980, per Dr. Daniel Kopans, Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School who was featured on the show as a critic of the thyroid guard.

 Allow me to be casual here for a moment as it seems Dr. Oz points to one tiny cause for a very large effect.  Dental radiation and mammography are two very, VERY small sources of radiation.  He did not address the use of cell phones (coincidentally, also in use since the 1980’s), older televisions and microwaves, background radiation (we are all subject to), or even exposure to outdoor sunlight.  The things I just mentioned largely contribute the amount of radiation that a person is exposed to in a lifetime. This is similar to the fluoride critics who blame fluoride in water (at the rate of one part per million), which occurs naturally in water anyway, for fluoride toxicity, cancers, and whatever else people are coming up with these days.  But I digress; that is a topic for another day.

 Back to the issue at hand, I am not a mammographer and will leave that topic alone, just leaving you with the one quote on the show that really stuck out in my mind.  Dr. Kopans, an expert in mammography and professor at Harvard, stated that the amount of radiation that a woman gets from one mammogram a year, times 40 years, is still LESS than what the audience members were getting in background radiation during the hour they sat there; therefore, he said, if Dr. Oz were going to recommend thyroid guards during mammograms, then he should also be providing them for his audience.  

 Dental x-rays are aimed at the teeth and jaw, and the thyroid gland recieves little to no radiation from that exposure.  Your thyroid is located low, near your clavicle, as pictured in the diagram below.  

 Now, if dental x-ray radiation was really causing thyroid cancer, why the rise since 1980?  X-rays have been around for over 100 years and dental x-rays have certainly been the standard of care for the majority of the 20^th century.  Since the turn of the century, most dental practices have been making the move to digital x-rays, which use about a quarter of the radiation exposure than traditional film x-rays.  So, shouldn’t we be seeing a decrease in thyroid cancer, if in fact dental x-rays are to blame?

You’re still concerned?  That’s ok.  There’s already a thyroid guard attached to our lead apron. 

Are you looking for a Chester dentist, a Chesterfield dentist, or even a dentist in the Richmond VA /surrounding areas?  Our office is located at the intersection of Ironbridge and Centralia Roads, about a mile from the Chesterfield Courthouse.  We are a mile off of 288, reasonably close to Chippenham Parkway, and about 10 minutes from 95.  If you are near or far, we would love to treat you right.  We even have patients that live in Prince George, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, West End, Williamsburg, DC, JAPAN, and MALAYSIA!  If you can believe that these people are willing to drive (or fly!) the distance to come see us, we think you will enjoy coming here as well.

We are now offering referral credits.  If you are a patient here, and you refer other people to our business (family, friends, coworkers, baby mamas...), then we will post a $25 credit to your account per family, with NO LIMIT on how many people you refer.  You receive the credit after the person you are referring has been seen for their new patient exam.  You can use your credit toward anything you please - copays for fillings, fluoride treatments, whitening / bleaching, or any other service we offer.  We would say "you're welcome," but we really mean, "Thank YOU!"