Dr. Staples gave a talk on dental "wants" vs. "needs" at The Southern Nevada Dental Society on Tuesday, March 8. Dr. Staples enjoys sharing his passion of healthy dental lifestyles with his peers. In the early 2000s, patients demanded mostly cosmetic dentistry. According to statistics from the American Dental Association, dental disease was on the decline. In the late 1990's, the ADA predicted that by the year 2030 many dentists would be out of business because we were catching up with dental disease. With new technology and preventative care, we would be eliminating our traditional work. Dentists started offering more procedures that catered to the patients "wants" and a boom started with cosmetic procedures. There is nothing wrong with cosmetic dentistry or providing beautiful and pleasing smiles. But nobody predicted what would happen next.
Change is the only constant in life. By 2007, cracks started to appear in the statistics. The ADA's findings didn't cover the Asian population. Interestingly enough, that population has a higher number in periodontal or gum disease. The Hispanic and African American populations were seeing higher numbers in obesity and diabetes. It is now documented that there is a direct link with obesity and diabetes to not only overall health issues, but to dental disease! The tables have turned and now the dental statistics have flipped backwards.
The tipping point includes the increase in the aging population, the long list of medications that people commonly take that cause dry mouth syndrome, the horrific rise in diabetes and obesity (those two issues go hand-in-hand), and the economic downturn that caused a domino effect keeping people away from their regular dental visits. Dentistry went from the opinions in 1999 that we were gaining and getting ahead of dental problems, to now in 2011 with the complete opposite scenario. Dr. Staples stated in his presentation that he has never seen anything like this in his long career. The doctors attending this meeting wholeheartedly agreed.
Dr. Staples continued on by citing examples of the patients in his practice and listed national statistics to prove his point. With the large number of seniors comes a longer list of medications. Many of these cause dry mouth that in turn causes a turn for the worse in consequences with gum disease, tooth and bone loss. This not only affects our seniors, but also the younger age demographic that take prescription medications that cause dry mouth. Things like anti-depressants and appetite suppressants.
You would have to live under a rock to not notice the news reports about the crisis in our country with the alarming rise in obesity and diabetes in both young and old. Sedentary lifestyles, poor nutrition choices, the shameful food industry that adds fillers, chemicals, additives, and genetic altering ingredients into our food chain that all add up to high Body Mass Index (BMI), or body fat percentage that is too high. Sugars of all kinds and the ever-increasing sodium content add to the problem. Blood pressure and cholesterol levels are also on the rise. All of these things neatly tie into more dental disease. Physicians are being too timid to state the obvious and tell their patients the cold hard truth that could save lives and money in our healthcare system. If only they would push clean eating, proper nutrition with real, fresh foods, and consistent exercise, we could turn this crisis around quickly. Instead, we have pharmaceutical companies and physicians pushing medications to put a band aid on the problem. But the dental exam shows the truth with the side effects causing patients to suffer from declining oral health.
When our economy took a dive, people had to make drastic budget cuts. Businesses eliminated or downgraded benefit packages. People steered away from going to the dentist thinking they would go when things got better. Wrong. Things didn't get better, and that included their dental health. Dr. Staples continued with examples of seeing a surge in missing or loose teeth caused by periodontal or gum disease and infection, pain and discomfort, plus the need for more dental implants. The escalation in dental disease has crossed all lines of age, race, and income levels.
The cracks and changes in just a few short years gives the dental profession shocking new statistics that led Dr. Staples to his final point. Dentists need to reorient themselves and their staff to meet the current needs of their patients. It is a time of serving our fellowman in a way that is more important than ever before. Success does not come in dollar signs, but in using our skills to treat our patients to the best of our ability to bring their oral and overall health back to an optimum level. In so doing, it brings a satisfaction in what we do as a dental community like we have never seen before.
