Very often I hear dental professionals refer to periodontal readings of 1,2 & 3 millimeters as healthy. As you think with me on this, you will realize that that is not always a true statement. Watch this 2-minute video and learn how to qualify this statement and never mislead the patient.
Are you ready to lead your team?
I love working with high level thinking dentists and team members; it’s always exciting!
What excites me the most is when a team embraces change. While the goal is to always elevate patient care and successful treatment outcomes, some teams and individuals resist change or changing. The team I want to highlight today started out that same way, resisting change.
First we learned to embrace change and realize that as a team coach I was only there to support their vision for change. Together we worked hard and had an amazing year. I was not surprised after the first year, they wanted more and we are now working together to master our philosophies, techniques, systems and services.
Please take a moment to appreciate the success of this North Carolina team.
Are you treating the WHOLE body?
I just returned from my first AAOSH (American Academy of Oral Systemic Health) convention in Salt Lake City, UT. To say that it was anything short of amazing, informative and even emotional at times, would be an understatement. Today’s medical and dental science based evidence is stronger than ever, proving that the link and CAUSAL effects between the pathogens of the mouth and the entire body are un-ignorable for either profession.
I was reminded how important and informative salivary testing is for improved treatment of periodontal disease. I was also exposed to some new information and tests that look closer for increased chances of heart attack and stroke associated with pathogens of the mouth. While there I had a Carotid IMT ultrasound, this test visualizes the presence of plaque and measures arterial damage. Included with my ultrasound results, Vasolabs has this statement:
“The inflammation and plaque found in the carotid reflects the same disease stage as what is found in the heart. Surprisingly (still to some), an additional reason for arterial inflammation is poor dental health. Bacteria found in arterial plaque and corresponding blood clots is the same bacteria that is specific to that found in the mouth. AAOSH members are making a difference in the medical community. The bottom line is that for a complete CV workup, your gums need to be 100% healthy”.
This is profound information that we as dental health care providers can no longer casually mention yet still ignore. We have a duty to our patients to continuously diagnose, inform and treat active infection in their mouths.
Watch the short and fun video of me getting my Carotid ultrasound, with Dr. Bradley Bale (co-author with Dr. Amy Doneen of “Beating the Heart Attack Gene”) standing behind me giving me a THUMBS UP for the test!