Disease Management and Dentistry

The latest issue of JADA, Journal of the American Dental Association, has two excellent articles dealing with dentists and their ability (and, I feel responsibility) to move beyond diagnosis of strictly oral pathology and assist other health care professionals in the detection of diseases that may not have primary impact in the mouth.

More articles are appearing discussing the dentists' role in diagnosis and treatment assistance in cardiac disorders, premature and low-weight births, diabetes and, of course, oral and pharygeal cancer.

The ADA has endorsed, by giving it a singular CDT code, the brush biopsy which will assist in diagnosis of oral lesions.

More insurance carriers are dedicating time and money to investigate the relationship of oral and systemic disease. Several Delta and Blue plans are aggressively using their claims data to examine the current "dental contract" and how it can be modified to provide maximum care to patients with minimum cost to the actual purchaser of dental insurance, the employer.

As this process grow, it will benefit our patients, our practices and the profession.

Great things are happening.

We ain't "just teeth".

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