Oral-Systemic Connection in Daily Dental Practice

The Oral-Systemic Connection in Daily Dental Practice                                                                                                     Your Patients Are Asking About It; What Are You Telling Them?

Chronic inflammation is a key component of the initiation and progression of numerous systemic conditions.  Expanding knowledge of the pathologenesis of oral inflammatory diseases, especially periodontal diseases, has shed light on the intimate relationships between periodontal health and overall systemic health.  It is important for the dental team to understand these relationships.  Most imperative is the translation of information from the world of basic science and clinical research and into the daily practice of dentistry.

Objectives

• Be familiar with the emerging concepts of periodontal diseases as they relate to other inflammatory diseases
• Comprehend the influences of systemic conditions such as immune compromise and diabetes on periodontal health
• Know how inflammatory periodontal diseases may impact cardiovascular health, the clinical course of diabetes, and pregnancy outcomes

  Brian L. Mealey, DDS, MS

Dr. Mealey is Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Periodontics at the University of Texas health Science Center at San Antonio.  He served 21 years in the United States Air Force, where he was the Chair of the Department of Periodontics at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio and the Program Director of the Air Force Periodontics Residency.  Dr. Mealey is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, and a former Director of the Board.  He is coeditor and author of two textbooks in periodontics and has published over 100 articles and abstracts in the scientific literature with a focus on both periodontal medicine and implant dentistry.