I've officially read the Dental Xray Study! Round two (ding, ding!)

FINALLY, my final comments on the controversial study on dental x-rays and brain tumors.........ugh.

       First, below is the link to the study documents. Well, actually it is the 8 page condensed version that was published by the peer-reviewed journal, Cancer. At the top of the page you can click on the "Full Article (html) and that leads you to view the full article (a whopping 8 pages!?!?) or download the PDF version. Personally, I'm rather surprised that an article attempting to tie dental x-rays with brain tumors is only 8 pages (including references, no less). That's pretty short in publication terms, especially for an article of this suggested "profound correlation" to the "Big C". Most journal articles with a thought-provoking topic like this are normally 15-30 pages long. I know, because I review them for a number of respected peer-reviewed journals, such as The Journal of the American Dental Association, The Journal of Public Health Dentistry, The Journal of Sexually Transmitted Disease, and a journal called Vaccine. Believe you and me, 8 pages is a walk in the park compared to most comprehensive studies accepted for publishing! (Hint, hint)..

  I have read the study documents numerous times by now. I've also been developing and teaching an executive-level business program specific only to dentists, which is why I'm just now getting back to this blog. Going forward, I'll be blogging regularly again since there's apparently NO END to the controversies we have in dentistry! So much controversy....so little blogging time...but I digress...

Link to Study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.26625/pdf

Dental Xrays and Risk of Meningioma Study

       Ok, here we go...
I officially stand by my prior rant of a post regarding this study. It is beyond flawed. The fact that it was conducted by researchers from Yale probably had a lot to do with it being published as Yale is a (normally) prestigious ivy-league university, of (hopefully) prestigious ivy-league researchers (ahem). HOWEVER, it is so flawed in so many ways, that I am FLOORED it was approved for publishing. Floored, I tell you!

        I read through this 8 page document in no time flat, while my blood pressure rose alarmingly high due to my growing outrage over its contents and assumptions. Honest to God, my blood pressure was off the charts by the time I was done reading it and looked at who in their RIGHT MIND had funded this study. Then I calmed down.....and I started to smile...and actually laugh a little. Why, you ask? Well, because this study was funded by the National Institutes of Health by 5 R01 grants (FIVE!!!) PLUS funding from the Brain Science Foundation, and also by (get ready for this one, folks, because it will have you in stitches momentarily) the Meningioma Mammas. That's right. You read this correctly. In fact, the total wording from this document states: the following:

"This work was supported by National Institutes of Health R01 grants CA109468, CA109461, CA109745, CA108473, and CA109475 and by the Brain Science Foundation and the Meningioma Mommas."

       Huh? What? Who in the world are the Meningioma Mammas and why are they sponsoring/funding this study? Well, I now know who the Meningioma Mammas are from their website (thank you, Google!) and I'm still thoroughly confused as to how this group is even associated with, or attempting to fund an ivy-league research effort. Granted, they are looking for answers in the form of correlations so they can find out why people are getting these common tumors, but for Yale to have to take that funding from this group, after using 6 other forms of grant funding from respected sources, is unbelievable, really.

        To get the FULL SCOPE of this, these Yale researchers (who are NOT dentists, by the way) had to secure funding from THREE sources, and FIVE different NIH grants, and the best they can produce is an 8 page document based on childhood memories of dental visits from 70 year olds??????? Wow. What in the heck did they do with all of that money (more than half a million dollars just from one grant alone) and no other means of gathering data than to ask people in 5 locations to remember and recount what type and how many x-rays they received throughout their childhood and adulthood with NO factual verification of these self-reported memories? Yowza.....unbelievable....

       Apparently, I'm not the only PhD in the pack to really object to this study, its flawed methodologies, and its attempted tie-in of dental x-rays and brain tumors. An NYU College of Dentistry dental researcher (Dr. Arthur Goren) called the results of the study "based on supposition", and was further outraged by the fact that the study was not "reviewed by a dental radiologist (prior to publication)" and called it "ludicrous". Many other members of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (AAOMR) disputed the (ahem) results of this study at their November 2012 annual meeting held in Savannah, Ga. AAOMR Statement on the dental xray & meningioma study conclusions

     I feel validated! It IS INDEED ludicrous! I remain staunch in my position that this study was SO flawed, and very over-funded (in my HUMBLE opinion), with ludicrous conclusions based on "guestimates" from people of all ages, including senior citizens. To say this is unacceptable is an understatement. It is flat out IRRESPONSIBLE to ATTEMPT to correlate dental x-rays (from antiquated machines back in the 1960's) with brain tumors, based on guesswork as the basis of the data collected to come to this conclusion. Yale, or no Yale, this study should NOT have been published and lacks all evidence-based scientific credibility (in my HUMBLE opinion). Oh, the horror!

       As Karl Pilkington, from An Idiot Abroad, would say; "Its BULLOCKS!"... and I have to say.....I concur. Not only do I agree, but officially feel validated from all of the other responsible researchers disputing the conclusions made in this ghastly study! Finally! Common sense has prevailed!

       Well, that's all for me today! Thanks for stopping by, and remember...you only have to brush and floss the teeth that you absolutely, positively want to keep. Nothing more. That's all.

Dr. Driscoll