American Dental Association

Even if you have healthy, adult teeth and gums your dentist may recommend X-rays be taken every year. The dental profession, however, says otherwise. Annual preventive X-rays, called bitewings, for healthy dental patients are not necessary, according to the American Dental Association.
Introduction As the year draws to a close, some of us will be reminded that olde acquaintance should not be forgot. So, before we can officially commence the New Year, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) would like to reflect upon this year past. We'd especially like to spend an extra moment considering what we hope the world will eventually learn to forget the most unfounded health scares of 2010. What were these? Not all of them were so novel. Just as old habits die hard, old scares don t seem to disappear easily either, and some headlines that received noted media attention in years past have reared their ugly heads once more in this current publication of our annual list of health scares.
Half a century ago, Orson Welles panicked his radio audience by reporting that Martians had invaded New Jersey on the fictional program War of the Worlds. On December 23, 1990, CBS-TV's 60 Minutes achieved a similar effect by announcing that toxins have invaded the American mouth. There was, however, a big difference. Welles' broadcast was intended to be entertaining. The 60 Minutes broadcast, narrated by veteran reporter Morley Safer, was intended to alarm to persuade its audience that the mercury in dental fillings is poison. It was one of the most irresponsible reports on a health topic ever broadcast on network television.