It is imperative we take more control of our collective destiny by taking action.
Below are three areas where we can take action, as individuals and as a collective of professionals. You can make your impact on a local, national, and organizational level to help move the profession forward and reduce the chance we will again be marginalized.
Making Change
Educate the Healthcare Community
Historically physicians and dentists have worked in silos, and while there is a myriad information showing the connection between oral health and general health, many doctors don’t get much training about it. Former dean of Harvard’s School of Dental Medicine, R. Bruce Donoff, MD, DMD, stated, “Most medical school graduates don’t know what they don’t know regarding the impact of high-risk oral bacteria entering the blood stream” and how they may contribute to diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease, dementia, pancreatic cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, psoriasis, respiratory infections and more.
Despite the U.S. Surgeon General originally publishing a report in 2000 explaining why oral health is essential to general health and well-being, and commissioning another report on oral health in 2020, this lack of knowledge has persisted. In a 2014 article lamenting the sluggish progress of a greater dental and healthcare partnership, Charles Whitney, MD, the founder of Revolutionary Health Services in Bucks County, Pennsylvania wrote in January of 2014, “I did not always work closely with dentists and hygienists. It was nothing personal, just that after seven years of medical training, my oral cavity education consisted of exactly one lecture!”
If the physicians don’t have much training in understanding the impact of the health of the oral cavity on the rest of the body, how can we expect our patients–or governments that guide those citizens– to know how truly important their dentist visits are to their overall health?
We must be advocates for collaboration between dentists and physicians and educators about the link between oral and systemic health. This is as true with general dentistry as it is with advanced dentistry. Dr. Whitney, from the example above went on to state, “As a physician, I am on a personal mission to urge my medical colleagues to work closely with dental professionals. In my lectures and articles, one of my key talking points is, ‘Periodontal disease is a medical condition of the mouth that physicians cannot treat.’”
In this time of COVID-19 especially, primary care physicians and those who treat the co-morbidities, must be aware of how you can help their patients. What should you do? Start the dialog with the physicians in your area. You can begin to bridge the gap immediately by writing articles for your local hospital newsletter, sending an educational email to local primary care physicians, or holding informative Zoom calls aimed specifically at educating physicians and discussing the link between oral and systemic health and how it applies during this pandemic.
1. Be Vocal with Dental Societies, National, State and Local Government
Dental Boards are not the “voice of dentistry” per se. They are regulatory agencies that apply the state’s dental practice act rules to licensees. They did not make the decisions that impacted us, Instead, those decisions came from governor’s offices and public health agencies. More appropriately, State and local dental societies are the ‘voice’ of dentistry – however they have no regulatory function and failed to ‘protect’ dentistry in terms of dentistry being labeled as ‘non-essential’.
We need to proactively reach out to them—individually and together—to make clear what the important issues are, what they should be communicating to elected officials and other decision makers, and why dentistry is truly essential for the health of the communities they serve. Get to know these people. Write, call and meet them in person, and when they misstep, let them know.
Over the past several years, professional dental organizations have seen a decline in membership—this is the right time to reconsider joining and to turn it into an organization that work for you.
2. Talk to Your Patients about the Oral-Systemic Health Connection
Go into any dentist’s office and you are likely to find many brochures and wall posters touting the importance of brushing and flossing and making sure to visit for regular cleanings and checkups. You are far less likely to see anything about oral health and its relation to overall health. That needs to change.
This message should be prominent in offices and should be a central part of patient communication—both in and outside the office. When patients are in the chair, instead of small talk, educate them about what oral health conditions can signify. And don’t get lost in the technical detail. Media stories about this issue often carry titles like “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body.” It’s not clinical but it does the job.
Certain organizations offer great reference materials for use in your offices. The American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH) offers information and posters. The National Interprofessional Initiative on Oral Health offers the Smiles for Life Oral Health curriculum. In addition, get involved and do your part in the #dentalsafety campaign and help rebuild public confidence in the safety of dental practices.
The more we do to shift patient perceptions of dental care to an integral component of their overall healthcare, the more essential we become.
Take a Stand
Our rallying cry is to act and influence the people who matter, so they see our profession the way they should—as essential. It’s up to all of us to carry this torch and educate anyone who has the power to prevent us from ensuring our patients’ oral health is treated appropriately, so their overall health—especially in this time of COVID-19—is not compromised.
To read part I of this article please click here.
