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# Dental x-ray linked to thyroid cancer
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/dental_x-ray_linked_to_thyroid_cancer_0813161143/
- Published: 2016-08-13T12:41:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:28:13.000Z
- Description: A Kuwaiti case-control study published in Acta Oncologica in 2010 found dental x-ray exposure associated with 110 percent higher thyroid cancer risk, with higher doses linked to higher risk and no variation by age, gender, education or parity.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Environment, Health News, #vivvo-import

Saturday Aug 13, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study released in 2010 again confirmed that exposure to dental x-rays increases risk for thyroid cancer in dentists, dental assistants and x-ray workers. Early studies have also found exposure to dental x-rays was associated with increased risk for meningioma and salivary tumors. 

The study conducted in Kuwait shows that exposure to dental x-rays was associated with 110% increased risk of thyroid cancer and high doses of x-ray were linked to higher risk. The association between exposure to dental x-ray and risk for thyroid cancer did not vary by age, gender, education, or parity.

Keep in mind that the thyroid gland is highly sensitive to radiation carcinogenesis and the damage induced by x-ray is hard to repair, according to [Dr. John Gofman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%5FGofman?ref=foodconsumer.org), a nuclear physician. The x-ray induced damage is cumulative and there is no safe dose of x-ray that induces no damage to the DNA! 

Dentists would keep saying that dental x-ray is comparable to the radiation one receives from a trip from Los Angeles to New York and might never mention to their patients that exposure to x-ray is the only established cause for thyroid cancer. (David Liu)

[*Anjum Memon, Sara Godward, Dillwyn Williams, Iqbal Siddique & Khalid Al-Saleh, Dental x-rays and the risk of thyroid cancer: A case-control study, Journal, Acta Oncologica, Volume 49, 2010 - Issue 4*](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/02841861003705778?ref=foodconsumer.org)