Hidden Risk: Millions of People Don’t Know They Are Diabetic

Our New York City dental practice has considered the whole body relationship of dental disease for 24 years. We obtain periodontal cultures of patients with advanced gum disease, based upon the early work of Dr. Max Listgarten. The recent discovery of diabetes in a patient based initially on periodontal (gum) diagnosis is a case in point. The Center for Special Dentistry (www.NYCdentist.com) is proud to work with Dr. Keith Berkowitz at the Center for Balanced Health (www.CenterForBalancedHealth.com) in mid-town NYC. The fasting glucose tolerance test they performed to diagnose the patient’s diabetes will contribute to the overall health of this 42 year young woman. This should be considered the standard of care in dentistry particularly with the present Administration’s push to expand healthcare for all. It will improve health, save lives and is cost-effective. For microbiology results from Temple University’s Oral Microbiologic Testing Lab visit:
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Read the Wall Street Journal article.

Reply:

Please re-read my comments:  I said our dental practice screened the patient for diabetes but worked with Dr. Keith Berkowitz (M.D.) at The Center for Balanced Health for diagnosis and treatment.  Dentists should not diagnose and treat diabetes but they can be invaluable in screening patients.

Separately, most physicians do not have any understanding of dentistry nor how it relates to systemic health.  It should be part of medical school.  Just 15 minutes ago we had to reschedule a patient who underwent AV Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia (AVNRT) in March at a prominent Long Island heart hospital but was not given instructions to premedicate for dental procedures for the first six months post-op.

Categorised in: Dr. Dorfman on WSJ.com

This post was written by Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman