Your Health
As keepers of the oral cavity, it is our responsibility to control infections of the teeth and gums. At The Dentists Collaborative our staff keeps up to date on the most recent scientific and technological findings in the medical/dental world.
The oral cavity is the most complex microbial environment within your body. It harbors about 700 different bacterial species, as well as viruses and fungi. These microbes impact on other parts of your body. As dental professionals we must control the oral microbial environment.
As research begins to associate heart diseases, lung abscesses, low birth-weight babies, diabetes, severe arthritic episodes and other maladies with oral infection, we have to be able to control and nullify these associations. By controlling the diseases of the mouth we will reduce the impact these infections can have on your general health.
As the complexity of dental infections, in the gums and jaw as well as within teeth have been studied, we have kept up with these areas of concern. Our team of dental professionals understands the relationship of oral infections to other more serious systemic diseases. We know the latest scientific findings and even participate in the research. Dental infection has been linked with many systemic medial problems. Amongst these linkages have been heart disease (arteriosclerosis, strokes and heart valve damage), diabetes, lung abscesses, low birth-weight babies, and more recently it may impact severe forms of arthritis. As a patient under our care we can integrate our skills to provide you with the best dental treatment and maybe affect your medical health as well.
Why Should a Dental Facility More Like a Hospital
In the USA about 60% of dentists are working in a solo environment. They have little contact with their peers and they make most of their decisions without the input of other professionals. Certainly, this is not what takes place in a hospital.
Why change dentistry? The answer is simply because "It is necessary!" As the linkages of medical problems to dental disease have grown in the past ten years, we have realized that dental care and dental facilities must evolve. The models for this new dental care are there, they are hospitals. They progress with the times, they don’t stagnate, and they advance for your safety and for your health. They are the models that we try to emulate.
Aging
Another complicating issue is the longer lives of people, the need to keep your oral health and your teeth for many more years than our parents. Unfortunately aging is often linked to medical problems (heart disease, diabetes, hormonal diseases, autoimmune illnesses, hypertension, allergies, and many other complicating health problems). In turn, these medical problems are often tied to a plethora of medications. As dentists we must be able to correlate the conditions in your mouth with your medical problems. Whether we control oral disease to prevent future health problems or whether we must control oral disease that is contributing to current medical illness, we at The Dentists Collaborative are prepared to help in either circumstance.
Medications
Medications can and often do complicate the therapies we offer our patients. At the very least they certainly may modify therapy and add additional home care burden to our patients. As your dental diagnosis evolves, it becomes entangled with your treatment plan. The final plan should also take your medical problems into consideration. It is not just serious medical diseases that complicate your dental health, it can be something seemingly benign as a tranquilizer (like SSRIs) that affects your saliva flow (dry mouth).
