It is astonishing that as early as 1914, Dr. Charles Mayo, of Mayo Clinic fame, wrote an article titled “Mouth Infection as a Source of Systemic Disease.” He is also known to have said, “The next movement in preventive medicine must come from the members of the dental profession.” Wow! This was over one hundred years ago. Where has dentistry been? We have just recently started to embrace the oral-systemic link, but do we fully understand the impact we have in preventive medicine and on our patients’ total health? Not really…
The main reason may be that we have never adopted medical testing as our physician colleagues have. They have a battery of objective science-based tests that their patients undergo before, during, and after treatment. These tests monitor patient health parameters by screening blood and urine. Well … the oral cavity is also blessed with a liquid that can be analyzed to determine oral health and its consequent effect on wellness or disease.
We have the data, evidence, and clues for detection of oral disease, all in the clear liquid that flows in the mouth. The clues obtained from saliva can show the patient’s genetic susceptibility to periodontal disease, their bacterial species profile, and, most recently, their level of oral inflammation, where high levels of inflammation are indicative of active periodontal disease. The oral physician, as investigative detective, must weigh the data, correlate, analyze, and, with this evidence, formulate a diagnosis.
Eureka! The clues in saliva are the keys to the comprehensive diagnosis of wellness or disease in the oral cavity. These clues can also monitor and track the efficacy of therapy, to determine whether the patient is or is not responding to the original treatment plan. Consequently, slight or major modifications can be made to the plan and the effects of these changes monitored. This is an objective scientific approach that has been practiced in medicine for many years. Now is the time for dentistry to adopt it! Saliva is the magic liquid which holds within it the clues to our patient’s health or disease, in the mouth and beyond. Saliva is the key!
It is time to tell your mother that you are a real doctor or an oral detective. You decide. Take the steps to uncover the oral clues that can impact your patient’s systemic health. Oral disease and systemic diseases are linked. Let’s try to break the link. This is the “next movement in preventive medicine that is coming from the dental profession” that Charles Mayo spoke about so many years ago. Better late than never!
About the Editor
Dr. Fay Goldstep has lectured extensively on Proactive/Minimal Intervention Dentistry, Soft-Tissue Lasers, Bioactive Dental Materials, and Oral/Systemic Health. She has been a contributing author to four textbooks and has published more than 100 articles. Dr Goldstep sits on the editorial boards of Oral Health Journal, Dental Tribune US Edition, Dental Asia and REALITY. She has been listed as one of the leaders in continuing education by Dentistry Today since 2002. Dr. Goldstep is a consultant to a number of dental companies. She can be reached at fgoldstep@gmail.com.
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