Women who have dental X-rays during pregnancy are three-times more likely to have a low-birth weight infant, according to a new study.
Researchers studied about 4,500 women. They found women who had dental X-rays were more likely to have babies weighing less than five pounds. Specialists seem surprised by the fact since the amount of radiation pregnant women were exposed to was very low and generally thought to be incapable of inducing observable health effects.Previous studies show young women who are exposed to radiation for spine problems before getting pregnant also have an increased risk of having a low-birth weight baby.
However researchers say their results should not discourage pregnant women from having dental X-rays if they suffer from a dental problem, as long as their doctor knows they are pregnant since most dentists are cautious about taking X-rays during pregnancy.
Researchers say more research needs to be done to substantiate the recent findings .
