Monday, February 10, 2014

For Immediate Release

February 9, 2014

Contact: IntentionalDental Consulting

517-331-3688

Dr. Lisa Knowles

517-282-8183

Not Getting Any Answers From Your Physician? Try Asking Your Dentist

Lansing, Michigan—Dr. Lisa Knowles has changed her approach to dentistry to help her patients understand their entire health, not just their smile health—although she admittedly reports a smile is very important.

"I kept seeing trends in my patients. They would come in with a broken tooth and I would fix the tooth—only to have it re-break. At first I thought I was doing something wrong from a clinical aspect. In reality, what I was doing wrong was not connecting their entire body to their teeth. Now, I see my patients as a whole person, and I ask many more questions to seek out the root cause of their problem—often initially surfacing as a broken tooth. I work diligently to bridge the oral and systemic gap," said Knowles.

In a 2000 report on oral health in America, the U.S Surgeon General affirmed that the mouth is a gateway to the body: "The mouth is a readily accessible and visible part of the body and provides health care providers and individuals with a window on their general health status. As the gateway of the body, the mouth senses and responds to the external world and at the same time reflects what is happening deep inside the body."

"Practicing within my scope of dentistry caused me to use caution when I tried to help my patients. I did not want them to think I was trying to be a physician, but in reality, I realized I had an advanced skillset to help them connect the dots with their overall health. I could identify problems and then get them to other health care providers in the area. When I read the Surgeon General's report in 2000, I felt like the medical and dental worlds were ready to work together for the good of the patient—not just fight over territorial scopes of practice. That gave me the courage to start talking to my patients about their overall health. Fourteen years later, I am so glad I did," she continued.

Benefits to patients are not the only wins with this approach to dentistry. According to information in the Diabetes Journal http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/4/1033.ful, "The estimated total economic cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 is $245 billion, a 41% increase from our previous estimate of $174 billion (in 2007 dollars)." Dentists can often help patients understand and manage their diabetic or pre-diabetic conditions. Ultimately, that means a high likelihood of saving costs for our healthcare system.

"I had a patient who kept losing bone around his teeth. We were diligent about getting him the periodontal treatment he needed, and he followed through with good home care. But, he still kept losing bone, and even lost a tooth. I probed deeper about his diabetes. He reluctantly told me his blood sugar levels were very unstable. This health condition caused him to start losing his teeth. We recommended he return to his physician and work with her to get his overall health back under control so that he could keep the rest of his teeth, among other things. He didn't realize the two were related, " explained Dr. Knowles.

Oral and systemic health links continue to surface as the two medical fields work more hand in hand. Dr. Knowles completed a General Practice Residency following dental school. She credits her residency for giving her expanded knowledge in healthcare and for enabling her to communicate more effectively with a variety of health care providers. To read more about the benefits of a General Practice Residency, click on Dr.Knowles' blog post link at

www.beyond32teeth.com/general-practice-residencies-the-bridge-between-oral-and-systemic-health/