During an Aug. 17 workshop hosted by Becker’s Hospital Review and sponsored by QSIDental, a NextGen Healthcare solution, two dental leaders discussed how dentists can reclaim their roles in healthcare. The webinar was moderated by Carlos Vallecillo, a regional manager for QSIDental.
Mr. Vallecillo spoke with:
- Susan Estep, DMD, owner and chief smile officer at Intown Smile Studio (Atlanta)
- DeWitt Wilkerson, DMD, owner and practicing dentist at DuPont & Wilkerson Dentistry (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Here are four key considerations dentists should take when treating patients, according to the speakers:
- Recognize the mouth as a portal to the whole body. Since many health conditions can originate or start showing signs in the mouth, dentists need to be ready to flag potential issues that could affect a patient’s overall health.
- Tear down the wall between medicine and dentistry. It’s critical dentists develop relationships with different clinical professionals so that they can refer patients for care when necessary. Practicing integrative dental medicine aligns with a sweeping trend in the greater medical community in which care providers examine and consider all aspects of their patient’s health rather than just their specialties, according to Dr. Wilkerson.
- Be a gatekeeper of systemic inflammation. With copious research available linking gum disease to other comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases and negative pregnancy outcomes, dentists have a responsibility to identify gum inflammation as soon as they encounter it. Inflammatory markers in the mouth often indicate inflammation elsewhere in the body, so it’s critical that doctors address gum inflammation quickly so they can prevent chronic systemic inflammation.
- Understand and warn your patients about the different problems gum inflammation can cause. Many patients may not be aware that gum inflammation can lead to adverse events if oral bacteria enters the bloodstream. Dentists should educate their patients and communicate clearly about the need to treat gum inflammation quickly. This is especially important during the pandemic, as research shows COVID-19 patients with gum inflammation experience a higher risk of death, according to Dr. Estep.
To learn more about QSIDental, click here. Access the workshop here.
