Dentist’s Office
The Mouth/Body Connection
Across time, the demographics of our population are changing. People are living longer, and have a much greater chance of keeping their teeth for a lifetime. The family practice dentist may be the all-around best source for regular oral care for an older population and can provide the vast majority of services needed. Many boomers can look forward to an entire life with healthy teeth and gums, with regular brushing, flossing, cleanings (prophylaxis) and dental checkups to catch any problems early, and of course, if they avoid smoking.
Science now indicates that your mouth speaks volumes about the rest of your body. Here are some examples of what your dentist may spot during a routine oral exam:
Whether you recently had oral sex. Yep, the secret’s out. Ladies, while you were satisfying your man, you may also have been creating little spots on the roof of your mouth, created by a minimal and harmless bursting of blood vessels that is a result of, eek, suction. Other things can cause these little spots, too, but this is one of the culprits. In the absence of other symptoms, she may now know how you spent last night.
Whether you are pregnant. A dentist might pick up on the fact that you are pregnant by changes in your gum tissue. Your body becomes more sensitive to plaque and bacteria when you are expecting.
Whether you smoke. Staining on your teeth may reveal your hidden smoking habit.
Whether you drink too many soft drinks, particularly those highest in sugar and acid.
Whether you have oral cancer. Your dentist, through a thorough exam, might be the first to spot this, long before you are aware it is there.
Finding a Good Dentist
Dentistry does offer a specialty in geriatric studies, but you don’t necessarily need to go to a specialist. Dental training involves four years of undergraduate study, or the completion of a set undergraduate curriculum, followed by four years of dental school. The first two years involve classroom work that closely parallels the first two years of medical school, including gross anatomy, physiology, and pathology. During these first two years, the student must also successfully produce in the laboratory many of the prosthetic devices that will, during her practice, be produced by an outside laboratory, giving the student an in-depth understanding of a properly made device, how it should fit, and how it can be adjusted. The student must then pass written board exams in order to qualify to work in the school’s clinics. The third and fourth years are a combination of clinic work, classroom instruction, and more advanced lab work. At the end of the four-year course of study, the student must pass both written and mock clinical (hands-on) board exams to graduate, and be awarded a doctoral degree. The graduate then takes board exams dictated by the region in which she will work in order to be licensed to practice. These four years of graduate school prepare the practitioner to practice general, family practice dentistry, including dentistry for children and older adults, and the license authorizes the family dentist to address decay and disease, perform extractions and root canals, make prosthetic devices, and all other dental services the average patient requires.
Many dentists prefer to seek additional post-graduate training. Such training takes anywhere from one to seven years, and can be in advanced general practice dentistry, endodontics (root canals), orthodontics (braces/bite alignment), prosthedontics (bridges, crowns, dentures), pedodontics (pediatrics), periodontics (gum/mouth disease), or oral surgery (also requires a medical degree). With the exception of oral surgery (to which family practice dentists receive an introduction), family practice dentists receive a baseline of training in all of these areas, and can treat patients with these issues. However, most prefer to refer patients to a dentist who specializes in the area, due to the need for specialty equipment, or because the specialist can perform the treatment with greater speed or efficiency, simply due to the volume of patients the specialist treats within that confined mode.
Cosmetic or aesthetic dentistry does not require a specified period of study, though some dentists do choose to specialize in these services. Some cosmetic or aesthetic procedures are taught in the form of continuing education seminars which often cost $10,000 to $15,000 for training in a single procedure. Ergo, your veneers are expensive.
Tell us what you think in the comment box below:
Did you know your dentist could tell so much about your overall health?
Is aesthetic dentistry worth the cost?
Are you enjoying the benefits dentistry can provide that it could not when we were young?
September 4th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I’m fired up about healthcare today! NO company employing workers can do it on $250K or less in revenues. So, basically except for some home based businesses that don’t employ anyone, everyone will be ensnared in the trap.
Looks like this “government-run option is comotose— but never will be dead. Eventually, this will come back again and again. Cooperatives are just another name for government -run… just dressed up a bit differently.
Health care needs to be:
1. Affordable for anyone wanting to purchase it
2. Portable
3. Able to be purchased across state lines
These are the solutions. Period.
We don’t need to redistribute wealth in the guise of healthcare reform or pay for those who refuse to pay for it or those whose lifestyles have made them a poor risk.
To quote a great American philosopher: GET REAL!
August 31st, 2009 at 10:39 am
I agree with Topper… Ted is dead, and hopefully this government takeover of healthcare.
Had Kennedy had the government run healthcare now being proposed, he wouldn’t have lived the nearly year and one-half since being diagnosed with a brain tumor. He would have been denied treatments such as the surgery he underwent, radiation and chemo, as he was 77 years old and had inoperable cancer. He would heve been told to “take some pills” to relieve the pain and would heve been dead in two months.
Think about that.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:29 am
I’m hearing all this drib about passing health care for “Ted Kennedy”.. How about listening to the more than 50% of Americans that do not want the healthcare proposals now on the table?… how about NOT passing health care for “the people of this country”?
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
That’s a hoot…open mouth for open casket!
Boomers seem to be in the transition period. Instead of dentures, we end up with a mouth full of crowns and veneers, most likely due to very old fillings that are leaking and slowly causing decay. Our kids, if they work at it, can get through life with nary a filling, and a lot greater chance to avoid even crowns and veneers.
I wish, as we grow older and our gums recede and expose dentin that is more readily susceptible to decay, that we could get some sort of a coating put on every time we get our teeth cleaned to protect them until the next cleaning. Is anyone working on that technology? There would be a huge market for it.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Hey…after my dentist put six crowns in my mouth, thus giving me a normal smile for the first time in my life at the age of 55, I said when I die I want to be lying there in the casket with my mouth open in a big smile. I spent thousands on those crowns and waited a lifetime to get them! I want everybody to see them!
July 11th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Not surprising. Dentists are more highly trained than most people would imagine…four years of dental school after they finish their bachelor’s, and the first two years almost mirror medical school.
Seems like a lot of boomers are taking advantage of the opportunity to have a better looking smile…I’m for it!
June 15th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
My dentist always checks for lumps etc around my throat and neck.