Perhaps the biggest challenge we have in dentistry is helping patients value dentistry and great oral health. For quite some time now, dental professionals have known about the link between oral and systemic health. This has been a keen area of interest among the scientific and research communities leading to a growing body of published research demonstrating the link between oral and systemic health. I will devote future blog posts to illuminating the scientific research, but for now I want to focus on how popular media is interested in this topic.
We know now that if a person has perio disease they have a higher risk of systemic health issues such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, pre-ecclampsia (early-term birth) and certain cancers, in particular OSC and pancreatic cancer. The popular media is interested in this information. Here are just a few examples of media coverage:
Whoopi Goldberg on The View: http://bit.ly/8c1NY
ABC News Story Linking Gum Disease to Heart Disease: http://bit.ly/1oBBPL
Fox News Story Linking Gum Disease to Fertility: http://bit.ly/qpH6TZ
Here are some print examples of media coverage:
Self Magazine article ‘4 Reasons Why Skipping the Dentist is Bad for You’: http://on.self.com/aJTYtg
Men’s Health article ‘Bad Gums Linked to ED’: http://t.co/hGYTRcG
Article on gum disease and women’s reproductive health: http://t.co/xGAo5GC
Gum disease linked to infant’s death: http://t.co/CKGGfPB
About three years ago we started using a simple, inexpensive DNA-PCR test to bring some state-of-the-art science into our perio diagnostic and treatment protocols. This test was developed by a German diagnostic laboratory and has become standard of care in Western Europe. It was brought here to the US about three years ago and we were one of the early adopters. This test is absolutely amazing and has been an important part of our conservative perio therapy program. Here is a link for the test:
The Result Report that is provided by the German Laboratory has proven to be a great patient education tool and has greatly improved our case acceptance for perio therapy. When patients see the report, they understand that they need more than just a cleaning! Here is a link for a Sample Result Report:
http://www.hain-diagnostics.com/downloads/mid_example.pdf
We have your patient’s and the media’s attention! Now is the time to get serious about diagnosing and treating perio disease. It is important to take action when the window of opportunity exists. When Whoopi is talking about it on The View, the time is now!!! Keep Smiling!
