Speakers - 2026

Title: Dental Infections Have Medical Consequences. Are we telling our patients?

Abstract

The Oral Systemic Connection is real.  Oral bacteria from many pain free dental infections invade the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, causing or worsening many diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pneumonia, Alzheimer’s Disease, rheumatoid arthritis and even pregnancy complications.  The bacteria in periodontal disease have been proven to be “causative” for cardiovascular disease. According to CDC, about 50% of adults over 30 and 70% of adults over 65 have periodontal disease. Periodontal disease has no pain. Cardiovascular disease is listed as the underlying cause of death for 931,578 people in the United States in 2021. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. Periodontal disease has no pain, so patients do not complain to their dentist or to their physician.Most physicians were not trained to ask about dental health or to even consider the mouth as a source of disease.They believe the mouth is the dentist’s territory. Do we, as dentists and health care providers, have an obligation to inform our patients of the medical consequences of dental disease? Should we, as dentists and dental staff, begin educating our patients that their oral health has medical consequences?The answer is yes! If you know the right thing to do, but don’t do it, is it wrong? If a blind person was about to step into traffic, should you stop them? I believe we have a moral obligation to stop them.Treat each other the way you want to be treated. You can see the traffic coming down the street, but they can’t.You have information they don’t.You can be the hero and save their life. You now have information about the spread of dental infections through the body. Your patients have never been taught this information from their parents, their teachers, their physicians or their dentists and has no idea of the connection between oral infections and their medical health.How are they supposed to learn? It’s not only up to the doctor to share this information with their patients. It’s up to the entire staff, including business assistants, chairside assistants, hygienists and doctors. Make it a Team Approach. During chart reviews, begin looking for patients with medical issues that could be related to their oral health. It’s a scavenger hunt! Possibly a history of heart attack, stroke, heart valve replacement, by-pass surgery, stents, diabetics, Alzheimer’s Disease, rheumatoid arthritis or any other medical issue. Track their dental health and their medical health over time and note any changes. The mouth is part of the body and must be included when evaluating overall health and determining any course of treatment.Track your success stories and share this information with your patients, staff and families.Dentists are more than tooth mechanics.We are Healthcare Providers.

What will the audience take away from the presentation?  

• They will be able to connect the dots between dental diseases and the medical conditions caused or worsened by oral bacteria.
• They will consider it their responsibility in sharing this life-saving information with their family, friends and patients.
• They will re-evaluate the time they personally take daily for cleaning their own teeth.
• They will educate their patients on the importance of daily, thorough dental cleaning for maintaining a healthy mouth and healthy body.
• They will learn that sharing this information with patients does not take any additional equipment or technology.  Just time and effort.
• They will learn that they can be the “hero” when identifying and eliminating the source of bacteria for many systemic diseases.