Integration of Oral Health with Medical Health: Implementation strategies for wellness opportunities in the restorative dental practice
and networking tools for continuous growth
was delivered by Doug Thompson, DDS.
Having a standardized approach to the dental exam, and a methodology for effective communication, provides many opportunities to influence the overall health of your dental patients.
This presentation outlines seven key foundational elements of the patient examination that capitalizes on those opportunities.
The methodology creates an easy transition from just talking about, and recommending reparative dentistry, to discussing overall patient health.
The knowledge base that is integration of oral health issues with medical health issues continues to evolve and expand. Getting started, keeping current, and continuing to grow that knowledge base is the challenge confronting many practitioners. Meeting this challenge head on is the mission of the Wellness Dentistry Network.
Dr. Thompson presents to us from the greater Detroit area and is speaking about a topic he never dreamed he would; periodontal disease and the new direction his dental practice has taken since learning of the systemic relationship.
He has been involved in dentistry for over thirty years and is a Faculty Member, Clinical Instructor and past Advisory Board member at the Kois Center in Seattle, Washington.
He is the founder of the Wellness Dentistry Network, a community of dentists with a desire to seek continuous knowledge about the integration of oral and overall health. Wellness Dentistry Network provides the tools and methodology to assist general dentists and their teams to integrate wellness concepts and knowledge of them, into everyday practice. These support materials assist with leadership, disease awareness and diagnosis, patient education, treatment and disease maintenance. It provides information in 22 areas to assist in the development of the wellness practice.
Using this unique diagnostic and communication approach, he has witnessed huge changes in the health of his dental patients, his practice and the engagement of his support team. He has also developed great collaborative relationships with physicians.
The talk placed particular emphasis on policy formation, consistent implementation and leadership, and overcoming the barriers impeding this.
Dr. Thompson’s full biography is available online.
Questions answered during the presentation include:
1. Why must there be four or more areas of in line bleeding? I’m repeatedly hearing we should have zero tolerance for
bleeding gums.
2. Filling out seven pieces of paper seems like a lot during the new patient exam. Do you fill those out, or does the
team do it? How do you get this information into the chart?
3. Where do sugar and fermentable carbohydrates fit into your Wellness Plan?
4. Xylitol – your thoughts?
5. When you focus on other health issues does it slow you down?
6. What do you recommend for Caries Management?
7. What Perio Therapy did you do for Patient?
8. Can we assume you set aside standardized antibiotic stewardship guidelines when treating identified high risk
pathogens in confirmed high risk patients?! Will guidelines ever be re-written for the adjunctive and prophylactic
use of ABXs?
9. How did you make more money from promoting wellness?
10. What has been the biggest benefit to practicing the way you do?
11. Have you been well received by physicians?
12. Frustration is we know how important this is – how do we communicate it so patients are receptive to the message?
13. Perlmutter’s big on Microbiome (Grain Brain / Brain Builder). Do you concur with his philosophy and findings?
14. Just today i learned of research into link between glaucoma and OSA….it just keeps coming. The oral systemic link is no longer a
question, if it ever was