Diagnosing Disease at the Dentist’s Office
By Rodney Alles | Published on November 23, 2011 | 0 Comments
Patients who are on routine recall schedules for semi-annual dental cleanings and exams tend to see their dentists far more frequently than their family physicians. It is because of this reason, as well as many others, than dentists are increasingly being called upon to diagnose early stages of various medical ailments.
In Forney, TX, Saturday dentist Dr. Rodney Alles of Ideal Dental Forney explains that the mouth and the body are all interconnected. Many people think of the teeth as being separate from the rest of the human body, but this could not be further from the truth. Signs of many medical conditions will show up in the mouth before they show up on the skin or anywhere else.
As a Saturday dentist in Forney, Dr. Alles has been trained in what to look for to tell if the oral condition that a patient is suffering from is being caused by a disease or a medical condition that is unrelated to the mouth. Diabetes, for example, is one such condition that dentists will frequently notice symptoms of during their routine dental exams.
While there was a time in the past when dental professionals looked strictly at their patients’ teeth and gums, without doing a thorough analysis of how the teeth and gums are impacted by the rest of the body, those days are long gone. In addition to noticing diabetes symptoms, Dr. Alles says that a Saturday dentist in Forney may be the best-equipped person to diagnose cold sores, throat diseases, and even certain types of oral cancers.
In order to make these types of medical diagnoses, Dr. Alles takes his patients’ blood pressure each time they come into his office. This information is then tracked, and a notation will be made if a particular patient’s blood pressure rises or falls dramatically between two visits. Blood pressure notations are also an important way to identify medical conditions that patients may suffer from without realizing it. In addition to taking patients’ blood pressure, Dr. Alles is a Saturday dentist in Forney who also uses x-ray images to diagnose oral cancers and a number of throat diseases.
Most people will wait to schedule appointments with their primary care physicians until they are already feeling sick, and by that point their conditions may have gone untreated for months. Dentists are on the front lines of medical care these days, and it is important that patients stick to their six month recall schedules in order to keep their overall health in tip-top shape.
*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.