{"id":961,"date":"2019-05-28T14:35:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T14:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=961"},"modified":"2019-05-28T14:35:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-28T14:35:33","slug":"the-link-part-2-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/the-link-part-2-3\/","title":{"rendered":"THE LINK \u2013 PART 2\/3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you missed\nPart 1 of this series, you can find it at www.thetowncommon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I ended last\nweek with a statement that I have used numerous times before \u2013 just because it\ndoesn\u2019t hurt doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t a problem. We keep learning more and more\nabout the link between the mouth and the rest of the body. It is essential that\ndentists and physicians do a better job at co-managing patients, and learn more\nabout the relationship between oral and systemic disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear\nthat if you want to take better care of yourself, you need to take better care\nof your mouth. Familial history is very important. If you know of any family\nhistory of dental problems, you are at higher risk. Higher risk individuals\nneed to be treated differently and may need a more aggressive preventive\nprotocol to help ward off progression of disease. In addition, an otherwise\nhealthy person who presents with a sudden increase in gum inflammation should\npossibly be evaluated by their physician to rule out any systemic causes if\nthere is not a simple explanation for the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The connection\nbetween oral health and systemic health is well-established and ever-evolving.\nOne thing we know for certain – we are living longer, but with more chronic\ndiseases and medication than ever before. It is exciting that there are so many\nthings on the horizon when it comes to detection, prevention, and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the\ntools being researched to help determine the particular disease path that a\nperson is on are salivary biomarkers. Although not routinely available yet,\nthis precision approach to the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease\naccounts for variability in a person\u2019s genes, environment, and lifestyle.\nBecause it is more personalized to the individual, it results in more accurate\ntreatment planning as well as improved outcomes for the patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering\nthe aging population, periodontal (gum) disease has the potential to become the\nmost prevalent dental disease in the near future. It is more important than\never for dentists to take the time to develop and incorporate a comprehensive\nperiodontal examination and treatment protocol for adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with most\ndiseases, delaying the treatment of periodontal disease until the advanced\nstages results in treatment that is more expensive, more complex, and less\npredictable. Most early to moderate stage disease can be treated in a general\ndental office if the inflammation is easy to control and the patient doesn\u2019t\nhave numerous systemic issues. Otherwise, it may be in the patient\u2019s best\ninterest to be referred to a like-minded periodontist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When half of\nthe US population is still affected with periodontal disease, despite decades\nof research and treatments, something is still missing. That missing key is a\nmore collaborative approach involving, dentists, periodontists and physicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026.and\nremember, just because it doesn\u2019t hurt doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t a problem. To\nbe continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair\nmaintains a private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to\nhealth-centered family dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to\nsee written about or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you missed Part 1 of this series, you can find it at www.thetowncommon.com. I ended last week with a statement that I have used numerous times before \u2013 just because it doesn\u2019t hurt doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t a problem. We keep learning more and more about the link between the mouth and the rest of the body. It is essential that dentists and physicians do a better job at co-managing patients, and learn more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":967,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions\/967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}