Very recently, there have been 2 announcements in the US about training physicians and nurse practitioners to look after oral health problems.
The first announcement emanated from the University of California at San Francisco and the latter announcement from Harvard and Northeastern Universities. Serious stuff.
The reasons behind this development appear to be twofold: (a) what happens in the mouth can be influential on systemic health and should not be divorced from managing the patients’ care and (b) physicians have been listening to their patients talk about how they can’t afford dental care.
Another factor is Medicaid and associated state programs have begun to pay the medical team for preventive dental care, starting with the application of fluoride varnish to high risk children.
In this context, a recent Swedish study to be published in a prominent medical journal, Circulation and summarized below, presents evidence that gum disease and associated inflammation, is a significant risk factor for a heart attack.
This is but one of several recent studies connecting these dots. And there are other studies which connect bad teeth (i.e. dental decay) to a heart attack too.
To continue reading, please visit: http://partnersinprevention.ca/are-the-silos-between-medicine-and-dentistry-coming-down/.
By: Ross Perry
SOURCED: Partners In Prevention – http://partnersinprevention.ca
