BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: The health news story today got everybody's attention, mostly because of how big dental X-rays have become in the past few years. they're almost impossible to escape, and because of new research just out raising questions about a possible link to brain tumors . Our report from our chief science correspondent Robert Bazell .
ROBERT BAZELL reporting: At the dental clinic of Maimonides Medical Center today, dentists say they have long been telling patients that X-rays should be taken only when absolutely necessary, especially for children.
Dr. JULIUS BERGER (Maimonides Medical Center): We use it very sparingly. We don't usually take X-rays on children under six years old unless there's an indication.
BAZELL: The study out today gives more reason for concern, finding frequent or yearly X-rays might double the risk for a common, usually nonmalignant brain tumor called a meningioma . Some 5,000 are diagnosed in the US yearly, three times as many in women as men. The research is prompting plenty of questions.
Unidentified Man #1: Why would I want to just constantly every year get an X-ray ?
Unidentified Woman #1: I'm left entirely confused.
Dr. ELIZABETH CLAUS (Yale School of Public Health): Don't panic, don't stop going to the dentist and have a conversation with your dentist about whether you might be able to reduce the number of dental X-rays .
BAZELL: Researchers compared almost 3,000 people average age 57 with and without meningioma and asked them how many dental X-rays they had had, including in childhood. Since there are few records, people's memories in such studies can be unreliable. So the study at best suggests a connection.
Dr. OTIS BRAWLEY (American Cancer Society Medical Director): We cannot say from this article that X-rays from dentistry actually cause brain tumors .
BAZELL: In addition, X-ray technology had changed. A typical dental X-ray today exposes patients to hundreds of times less radiation than it did decades ago. Since meningioma takes 20 to 30 years to develop, most of the subjects in the study were exposed long ago.
Unidentified Woman #2: You're brushing everyday?
BAZELL: The message for patients from many experts, including the American Dental Association , is that dental X-rays should be used only when necessary and in the smallest doses possible.
Unidentified Man #2: This is our camera here.
BAZELL: Robert Bazell , NBC News, New York.
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