oral health brief

Knowing Medical History Is Important to Dental Care

Most of us expect to provide our medical history when we visit the doctor. But given the connection between oral and whole-body health, we should expect to provide our dentists with that same information, says Amanda Hill, a dental hygienist and industry educator. In a post published in DentistryIQ.com on January 28, Hill writes that her patients often wonder why it’s necessary to provide a thorough medical history form for a dental visit. She notes that 47 percent of adults over age 30 have periodontal (gum) disease, a condition linked to more than a dozen other diseases. She adds that some medical conditions, like diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and HIV, often start with dry mouth, so a dental checkup can lead to early diagnosis and treatment. “As a clinician, my knowing that you have a disease or a family history of a disease helps me help you manage or even avoid that disease,” she writes. “I have seen patients get their diabetes under control and then their gums get healthier as a result, and the inverse can also hold true: We focus on managing patients’ gum disease, and suddenly their diabetes is under control. But I need to know about it, or I can’t provide you with the best care.”

Information sourced by Jonathan Richter, DDS, FAGD, owner of Cariodontal, located at 310 E. Shore Rd., Ste. 101, Great Neck, NY (516-2820310 / Cariodontal.com), and Manhattan Oasis Dentistry, 525 West End Ave., Ste. 1G, New York, NY (212-874-2880 / ManhattanOasis Dentistry.com). See ads, pages 23 and back cover. Jonathan Richter, DDS, FAGD