The Complete Health Dentistry Approach
Taking a holistic approach to dental care is one of the best things you can do for your overall health. The complete health dentistry approach focuses on far more than teeth; it focuses on all the muscles and tissues in your mouth and surrounding areas.
Left unchecked, oral bacteria can create infection in other body parts. This makes it critical for dentists to understand the relationship between oral health and systemic disorders.
Detecting and Treating Gum Disease
Gum disease is a major oral health risk resulting in tooth loss, bone loss, and other systemic illnesses. Bacteria produce plaque, which are hard deposits that lead to gum disease. These deposits irritate the gums, cause inflammation, and eventually eat away at the tissue and bone. Due to the discharge of bacteria into the bloodstream, gum disease can cause periodontal disease, a serious consequence of diabetes, and heart disease if treatment is not received. To address the critical issue of gum disease, it is imperative to seek timely intervention from an expert dentist in richmond hill Ny. A skilled professional can provide specialized care, offering thorough examinations, precise diagnosis, and effective treatment plans to safeguard against the potential complications associated with gum disease.
St. Johns Orthodontics helps patients understand how oral health impacts the rest of their body. They also see the mouth as a gateway to their overall health and look for signs that might suggest other problems in other parts of the body, such as inflammation or unexplained spots in the mouth. This can help patients and their doctors identify and treat a condition before it worsens. This can help prevent other general health conditions from developing and reduce the risk of complications associated with gum disease.
Educating Patients on Oral Habits
While many people take their teeth for granted, they may not realize that gum disease or a cavity could seriously affect their health. This is because the mouth is the gateway through which diseases can enter and spread throughout the body.
A key aspect of complete health dentistry is educating patients on how to take care of their oral health. It is essential to tailor education to individual patient needs, as negative associations with specific dental hygiene tools or practices can be significant barriers to forming and adhering to healthy habits.
Setting up a trusting rapport is critical when educating patients on their oral health. The dynamic should feel less like a teacher/student and more like two teammates striving for the same goals. Avoid making them feel obligated to stick with a routine; instead, encourage them to become energized by the positive impact of a good at-home routine. Educational materials can be as simple as instructions or as complex as a combination of printed material and videos.
Detecting and Treating Systemic Diseases
Correlations between dental conditions and chronic systemic diseases have been emphasized in scientific literature for decades. However, the integration of this knowledge into intersectoral care still needs to be improved.
Many community health programs are working toward medical-dental integration to educate patients on the connections between the mouth and the body and promote preventative dental practices that support other wellness initiatives.
This holistic approach addresses the underlying social determinants of oral and general health that influence individuals, families, communities, and nations. These include multigenerational trauma, adversity due to ethnic, racial, or economic identity, lived oppression, and the effects of discrimination and poverty. Addressing these determinants can help increase access to oral health services for underserved populations.
Creating a Custom-Fit Plan
As a patient, you will receive dental care from a dentist that considers your whole health. This means they will perform a comprehensive initial exam to identify complications that can impact your overall health. This also includes performing an occlusion test that will reveal abnormalities in how your teeth and jaw function together.
This helps your dentist understand the full extent of your oral health so they can create a custom-fit plan that will help prevent future problems. They will also use minimally invasive techniques and prioritize education and prevention so you can make smarter lifestyle choices.
