How unifying dental, medical care can advance health for everyone!
Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and Dental Quest are actively working towards this goal, and we must also contribute our support. Submitting a letter of endorsement for this initiative can significantly benefit thousands of patients, promoting improved health outcomes. The historical separation of dental and medical healthcare systems in the United States is regrettable. My esteemed friend and mentor, Dr. Donald B. Giddon, MA, DMD, PhD, a Professor Emeritus of Developmental Biology (Behavioral Medicine and Dentistry) at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) and the Faculty of Medicine, can attest to this. Harvard University has, for some time, integrated dental training with medical students for two years, focusing on rounds, diagnostics, and oral integration. The current lack of integration is detrimental to patients and dissatisfying for both physicians and dentists, as the advanced knowledge and expertise of both professions demand collaboration. For instance, it has been observed that only approximately half of patients who present to emergency departments with toothaches receive dental care within six months, with over one-fifth experiencing recurrent issues.
The Mayo Clinic, for instance, has maintained an oral surgery service for over a century. Dr. Charles Mayo stated, “Preventive dentistry can add ten years to your life.” In 1928, Charles H. Mayo, MD, addressed the American Dental Association, stating: “The practice of medicine includes dentistry, and dentistry is the practice of a special branch of medicine.” In 1962, Surgeon General Luther Terry, MD, DSc, stated, “Health is indivisible,” foreshadowing the first Surgeon General’s report on oral health in 2000.
Dentistry is integrated into medicine in certain regions of both Canada and the United States. For instance, the Mayo Clinic facilitates medically oriented oral health collaborations between dentists and physicians. Interprofessional teams address conditions such as head and neck cancers, craniofacial syndromes and growth dysplasias, temporomandibular disorders, and obstructive sleep apnea. These teams also ensure that cardiovascular and transplant patients are free of oral diseases before surgery. However, despite these advancements in integration, the separation between medicine and dentistry persists. Collaboration is particularly crucial for patients with known oral health comorbidities, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, rheumatologic conditions, and preterm labor.
Reference:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35133723/
- https://thepaleodentist.com/9-dr-charles-mayo-said-that-preventive-dentistry-can-add-10-years-to-your-life/
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ctaxin@links2success.biz or on the website www.dentalmedicalbilling.com