Salivary Diagnostics

Educated in Dental Hygiene, Practicing Dental Medicine

Posted on by Stevey Cline RDH
Think about a smile, what does it mean to you? As a dental professional it likely means more than friendliness and beauty. Does the word medicine come to mind? I have been practicing dental hygiene for five short years and have begun to understand the degree that dental and medical are interchangeable. Dental medicine is a key term used when you understand the interchangeability. I believe in dental medicine. As a clinician, most of us have heard our patients say, “There is just a little ...
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How to do you speak Risk of Cancer and Periodontal Disease to your patients?

Posted on by Michael C. Rogers, DDS
  Dr. McGlennen: Cancer is a word that receives a lot of attention. There are walks, runs and bike rides every day to raise awareness of various types of cancers and billions of dollars are spent on research directed to improve diagnosis and treatments. As health care professionals, we should perform a cancer risk assessment for each patient with a goal to reduce the patient’s risk and to find cancers earlier when cure is more likely. One way that the dental office can contribute to ...
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There is No Failure, Only Feedback

Posted on by Diane Larson RDH, BSDH
As 2022 ends, most people generally reflect on what was accomplished, maybe started but not finished, successes or failures, and what is to come in 2023. If 2022 didn’t meet your expectations, 2023 is just around the corner with endless possibilities. However, before we think about next year, let’s reflect on if failures are truly failures. In a recent podcast by Jim Kwik, the quote “There is no failure only feedback” resonated with me. As an extension of every OralDNA® provider’s team, d...
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Dental as a Missing Link for Medical Failures

Posted on by Simon Yu MD
Do you want to live a longer, healthier life without chronic aches, pain, or chronic illness? Your oral cavity, gums, and dental status can provide an ample “mouthful of evidence” of your health status. Your physician most likely overlooked the dental-oral connection to your health. Medical doctors rely on dentists to care for your teeth, and common procedures can lead to making your health worse over time. Hidden dental problems may be as bad as or worse for your health than obesity, hyperte...
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Interview with Functional Medicine, International Leader Pete Williams

Posted on by Pete Williams
Dr. McGlennen: You started incorporating OralDNA® testing services into your care in Spring 2018. Tell me how you were introduced to OralDNA® salivary diagnostics and why do you use the testing services. Pete Williams: We first became aware of the OralDNA® testing services at a Functional Medicine conference in the US. As a Functional Medicine practice, we are aware of how oral health can have a systemic effect on chronic disease and its management. We have been following the research ove...
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Dental Hygiene: Looking Beyond

Posted on by Barbara Tritz RDH
Dental health has never been more important. We know the mouth plays a critical role in systemic health. It is a bellwether for what is really happening deep within the body. The mouth is the proverbial “canary in the coal mine.” The infections we see clinically are symptoms of bigger problems, and vice versa; inflammation in the mouth affects the entire body. We know: 50% of the US population has some level of gum disease.1 Dementia affects 55 million people worldwide, and this n...
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Interview with Jessie Jones RDH, MSDH

Posted on by Jessie Jones RDH MSDH
Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how you were introduced to OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Jessie RDH: A fellow hygienist and friend of mine had used salivary diagnostics in her practice and she introduced me to the concept a few years ago. She knew how tuned in I was to the concept of the oral- systemic link, so I was immediately excited when she told me about OralDNA® Labs’ testing. I felt it was important for me to learn more because I wanted to do the best for my patients. Providing salivary di...
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Is A Medical Model Right for Your Practice? Part 2: Two Visit New Patient Appointments

Posted on by Michael Goldberg DMD
Last week in Part 1, I introduced telehealth as an option to build value into your diagnosis and treatment plan. Since a one-visit new patient system presents some challenges, other than for patients who are very healthy, here is another option to consider. A two-visit new patient process similar to the medical model, especially for patients with more involved issues. This is the model most hygienists and dentists were taught in school. It’s only in private practice that the one-visit model ...
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Is A Medical Model Right for Your Practice? Part 1: Telehealth

Posted on by Michael Goldberg DMD
When you go to a primary care physician for a routine examination, chances are you’ll get weighed, have your “vitals” (blood pressure, temp, pulse) taken, have your lungs and chest listened to, ears, nose and mouth explored. Perhaps they’ll take an EKG to monitor your heart. Lastly, they’ll ask you to provide a urine sample and have blood taken so some lab tests can be run. What happens afterwards? Since the results of your urinalysis and blood work take several days to get back, ther...
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Interview with Dr. Caleb Robinson DDS

Posted on by Caleb A. Robinson DDS MBA
Dr. McGlennen: You have been using our testing services for over 13 years. Do you have a different approach today than your approach 10+ years ago? Caleb Robinson DDS: Without a doubt. In retrospect, our treatment from many years ago really seems like a “shot in the dark” against disease. We originally implemented salivary diagnostics as a helpful guide prior to treatment, to help us tailor the treatment to each patient’s specific case. Over the years we have progressed even further – now...
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