Toxic Toothpaste? Kids getting cancer from Ortho X-rays?
Lead and other toxins discovered in a range of Dental Products
According to a recent news report - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/toothpaste-lead-heavy-metals - a list of dental products have been found to contain harmful heavy metals.
Quote:
Toothpaste can be widely contaminated with lead and other dangerous heavy metals, new research shows.
Most of 51 brands of toothpaste tested for lead contained the dangerous heavy metal, including those for children or those marketed as green. The testing, conducted by Lead Safe Mama, also found concerning levels of highly toxic arsenic, mercury and cadmium in many brands.
About 90% of toothpastes contained lead, 65% contained arsenic, just under half contained mercury, and one-third had cadmium. Many brands contain a number of the toxins.
The highest levels detected violated the state of Washington’s limits, but not federal limits. The thresholds have been roundly criticized by public health advocates for not being protective – no level of exposure to lead is safe, the federal government has found.
“It’s unconscionable – especially in 2025,” said Tamara Rubin, Lead Safe Mama’s founder. “What’s really interesting to me is that no one thought this was a concern.”
Lead can cause cognitive damage to children, harm the kidneys and cause heart disease, among other issues. Lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic are all carcinogens.
Children may be at risk of higher Cancer rates due to Orthodontic X-rays?
Reference: https://kevinobrienorthoblog.com/risks-of-child-cbct-revisited/
Sadly high tech devices can come with added risks, and in this case the use of CBCT scans (3-D X-rays) may be overused in routine cases where they are not justified. The current regulation is often drafted to allow the professional a bit too much discretion and the desire to pay of the device with every new patient's exposure could be clouding the judgement of some. What % of orthodontic patients could be getting unnecessary radiation? Good question. Probably if a professional needs to refer out for a CBCT their number of scans will differ greatly than if they have purchased a unit. This would be an interesting study.