Wholistic Dentists:
Get back to your offices now!
OK, like many of you, I’m going a little crazy right now! But no, I’m not fretting about how or why this whole pandemic got started, or which side of the political fence is being stupid. What I find so inexplicable, though I suppose not so unexpected, is how dominating and incompetent allopathic medicine is at managing this crisis! Just last night the President suggested that perhaps handshaking will have to become a thing of the past. Really!! But then again, if your whole approach to health is reactionary, then perhaps that does make some sort of sense.
Members of the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health and other forward-thinking health-centered dentists don’t need to be educated about how critically essential oral health is to systemic health and immune function. You know that without a healthy oral biome, absence of periodontal or endodontic pathogens, or an open airway, your patient’s immune system is severely compromised. Moving forward, whether in this wave or the next, we have to assume that we are all going to be exposed. And don’t we have every reason to assume that oral disease may very well be the direct or indirect “underlying condition” that makes the difference between mild or severe symptoms?
Wholistic dentists appreciate the vital role they play and have assumed the mantle of front-line guardians of their patient’s total health; educating and guiding our patients to make proactive lifestyle choices that benefit both their oral and their systemic health – their resistance to disease and infection.
So, why aren’t we putting our patients first now? Why are we allowing blanket universal assumptions to dictate how we individually determine the best way to responsibly care for our patients. Aren’t we already exercising “universal precautions”? Many of you already only see one patient at a time, assuring that your reception area rarely has more than one or two people in it at any given time. So for you, social distancing really shouldn’t be that difficult to achieve. And if your practice happens to be more robust with multiple practitioners operating simultaneously, why not have a discussion with your staff and brainstorm how you might stagger schedules and manage patients to assure your ability to safely and responsibly care for the critical needs of your patients. Included in that discussion, what will you consider “critical”.
How far out you want to stick your neck is certainly a personal decision. But if you really believe oral health has life and death consequences to systemic health, then never has it been more important to put your neck where you mouth is than now. Forget putting your money where your mouth is, although keeping the economy running as much as possible is certainly important. I’m talking about your neck, having the cajones to be the only dentist in your community that keeps your practice running. Because you know that your patient’s life may very well depend on the healthy immune system they can only achieve/maintain with your help!
Each state is handling the crisis differently. In my state of Idaho, the governor has made “health care” an undefined exception to his 21 day “shelter-at-home” order. Next door in Washington, they are allowing dental emergency treatment defined as “relief of pain and management of infection.” The ADA has made its list of emergency and non-emergency procedures which basically only allows for the management of acute pain. And the CDC recommendation is that we “postpone elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits,” while allowing that “the urgency and need for a procedure are decisions based on clinical judgement and should be made on a case-by-case basis.”
I understand the need to “flatten the curve” and conserve resources. And is postponing perio-maintenance for two weeks really going to adversely affect a patient’s immune function? Probably not. But waiting until after June 15 as Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown has ordered?
In my not humble enough opinion, the ADA has failed in its recommendations to recognize the critical nature oral health plays in systemic health. And at no time in recent history has systemic health and immune function been more critical than it is right now. Therefore it is incumbent upon those of us who do recognize the critical nature of what we do to stand up and do what’s right for our patients, even if that just means lobbying for relaxation of practice restrictions. But I’m hoping you will find a way to get back to doing what you do best – SAVING LIVES!
Dr. Lon Peckham provides comprehensive and wholistic dental care in Priest River, Idaho. He is a consultant certified in Lead Management and Choice Theory, as a Lifestyle Health Facilitator, and is currently pursuing certification by the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. He helps patients and dentists successfully incorporate whole-health into their lives and practices.
