News In Dentistry Shows Oral Health Issues May Signal Further Health Issues…
Recently there has been growing news in dentistry. Oral health issues may be signs of further health problems that could be caught earlier by dentists recognizing the symptoms.
Diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, immune disorders, hormone imbalances, sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders, and substance abuse can show up in the gums, teeth or tongue at an early stage of the problem and specific problems may be related to specific diseases.
Director of the International Centre for Oral-Systemic Health, Anthony Iacopino, said “We have lots of data showing a direct correlation between inflammation in the mouth and inflammation in the body.” Inflammation in the gums increases C-reactive protein in the body which is believed to a reason for heart disease.
Gum disease is often linked to diabetes. Dentists can tell there is a problem if the gum tissue is glistening where it meets the teeth, bleeds easily and pulls away from the bone. 93% of people who have periodontal disease are at a risk for diabetes. There has also been evidence that treating gum disease helps circulation and reduces inflammation. Treating gum disease at times also can take away the need for insulin in some people suffering with the disease.
Dentists have always known that people’s teeth and gums can tell a lot about a person’s overall health, but now the question is, should dentists be doing more?
The latest news in dentistry makes health experts consider giving dentist more responsibilities to play a bigger part in not only oral health issues, but overall health issues.
The suggestion of dentists taking a patient’s health history, checking blood pressure and providing x-rays to test for possible health problems has been brought to light with this news in dentistry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also proposed dentists offering HIV testing as some initial symptoms appear in the mouth. Dentists could do an HIV test with a mouth swab and have results in 20 minutes.
One reason this may be a good step if 20 million Americans who do not have an appointment with their family doctor during the year do see the dentist. This is 6% of children and 9% of adults seeing their dentist but not their doctor. Their oral health issues may be being addressed while their overall health issues fall to the wayside.
Dentists already have to stay up to date on medications, supplements and over the counter drugs patients take as these affect their treatment and responses to certain acts. For example, blood thinners can cause more than normal bleeding in the mouth.
So, perhaps the next time you go to the dentist you may get more news than you thought concerning your overall health and not just oral health issues. However, this news in dentistry may have a small effect on dentists in terms of time. There should be no extra training required or dental-school curricula changes as most are already trained in general medical screening.
Faye Joyce has written 108 articles on EpostMedia.
