Bridging the gap between Medicine and Dentistry: Your thoughts?

[DentVols17]

According to the National Institutes of Health, dental caries are the single most common, chronic childhood disease in the US. Additionally, some (mostly dental professionals) believe oral health should be considered a comphrehensive component of overall health, though our current healthcare infrastructure portrays a different message. With changes in the healthcare system compounded with continued lack of access to dental care, do you think the fields of medicine and dentistry need to evolve together in order to meet the demands of oral health in the years to come?

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[TJNova2011]

According to the National Institutes of Health, dental caries are the single most common, chronic childhood disease in the US. Additionally, some (mostly dental professionals) believe oral health should be considered a comphrehensive component of overall health, though our current healthcare infrastructure portrays a different message. With changes in the healthcare system compounded with continued lack of access to dental care, do you think the fields of medicine and dentistry need to evolve together in order to meet the demands of oral health in the years to come?

What could physicians do? Their education is typically less than 3 hours in their education.
There is not a lack of dental providers or care.

There is a:
1) Lack of parents taking responsibility, which my include, but not limited to brushing their child's teeth, flossing, regulating dieting
2) Lack of priorities. Upgrading to the new iPad, iPhone, vacation, etc takes presidence to dental care.
3) Increased in providers (dental therapist) who will increase a barrier to care. Specifically, being grossly under trained will cause more harm to a child's dentition.

 

[DentVols17]

I agree with your 3 points and statistically it would seem that the US has a sufficient number of providers for the given population. The problem still remains that 33% of individuals in the US live in health profession shortage areas - places where dentists and mid-level providers (dental therapists) would never set up a private practice. To speak to your point - many parents are uneducated when it comes to the oral health of their child... many would not understand the importance of maintaining healthy baby teeth. As for a possible physician role, Pediatricians have much more exposure to children (and parents) during their well-child checks and being able to deseminate basics, preventive education (something prepared by the ADA) on oral health may carry some merit. If dentistry is to be considered a component of comprehensive healthcare than that should not be outside of their scope of practice. Due to medical training, however, people get up-tight about the thought of a physician delving into dental practices...and rightfully so. Just thought it was something to think about.

 

[goffdent]

They just baby teeth.. They gon' fall out anyways..

 

[Muggsy Bogues]

Philosophically, it makes little to no sense to have oral health care as a distinct field and regulated as such. However, I'd like dentistry to stay as far away from medicine as possible. You know, from a financial, bureaucratic, and regulatory perspective. As long as the general public and government views dentistry, correctly or incorrectly, as a bunch of elective procedures then our profession will be alright. I can live with an excise tax here and there being considered threats to our profession, relatively speaking.