Eight Ways Dentists Save Lives

Dentists are dedicated to the health of your entire mouth; but also provide a significant contribution to your medical health. Dentist’s role in overall medical health is sometimes underestimated. In reality, dentists are an important part of their patient’s health team. Here are eight ways that dentists save lives.

• Dentists save lives by identifying dental conditions that contribute to serious health issues. A dentist can identify medical health problems by looking into the patient’s mouth. Tell-tale signs of anorexia, bulimia and even drug use are evident from the gum tissues and teeth. The dentist can then address these dilemmas and offer suggestions to seek treatment before they become crises.
• When dentists rebuild smiles, they improve patients’ confidence levels. Self-assurance has a huge impact on patients’ well-being.
• Dentists identify both dental and medical health conditions using cone beam CT scanning technology. Diagnoses range from chronic sinusitis to intracranial calcifications, multiple myeloma, soft tissue masses, osteoarthritis of the TMJ, degenerative cervical spine, and narrowing of the airway. Doctors at Pi Dental Center wrote a journal article outlining pathologies discovered using Cone Beam CT technology. Read Article.
• Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable illness in the United States and accounts for approximately twenty percent of deaths. Dentists play an important role by providing smoking and tobacco cessation counseling.
• Oral cancer screenings are conducted at every oral hygiene visit. Approximately 53,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer each year and nearly 10,860 of those people will die. Early detection improves treatment outcomes and saves lives.
• Patient safety is a priority. The dentists and clinical team at Pi Dental Center are equipped to aid patients during a medical emergency. The entire team at Pi Dental Center is certified in CPR.
• Glenn Wolfinger mentions, “Routine clinical examinations are done following every hygiene appointment at Pi Dental Center. During those exams we are checking the health of the teeth, gums, bone and surrounding tissues.  Systemic disease can sometime be detected by tissue changes in the oral cavity. Oral cancer screening is an essential part of routine dental exams.”
• The connection between oral health and medical health is well documented. There is a correlation between coronary heart disease and gum inflammation. The relationship between diabetes and dental health can be a vicious cycle. Blood sugar is harder to control for people who have gum disease because serious gum disease can cause blood sugar to rise. Patients with poorly controlled diabetes are at risk for gum infections.
  

  Dentists save lives by helping the patient maintain a healthy mouth!

If you have questions about your dental care or would like to schedule an appointment at Pi Dental Center, please give us a call at 215-646-6334. We are very happy to speak to you.