To the majority of the general public, we fix, drill, and yank out teeth. Right? Here’s the deal: While we may not be general practitioners or heart surgeons, we are doctors, and what we do clinically can have an impact on our patients' overall health, and—yes—we can even save lives.
Editor's note: This article first appeared in DE's Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS. Find out more about the clinical specialties newsletter created just for dentists, and subscribe here.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, SAVING PEOPLE'S LIVES AND IMPROVING their overall health and well-being are things not associated with dentistry. To the majority of the general public, we fix, drill, and yank out teeth. Right?
Here’s the deal: While we may not be general practitioners or heart surgeons, we are doctors, and what we do clinically can have an impact on our patients' overall health, and—yes—we can even save lives. That’s what this month’s articles drive home.
Exactly how can new dental imaging have the potential to screen for diseases and subsequently save a patient’s life? Radiologist Dr. Oksana Bandura explains how this technology has the potential to do just that.
Can changing the occlusion open the airway enough to impact the health of patients? How does this correlate to sleep apnea? You have to read the article to find out! It’s a fascinating case report about occlusion, sleep apnea, and how marrying it all together can give everyone a better night’s sleep.
A patient noticed a white lesion under her hybrid All-On-4 prosthesis. The area had been biopsied five years earlier for a similar lesion that had been diagnosed as precancerous. Try your hand at this pathology case ... I dare you!
Just when you get comfortable with your day-to-day workings at the practice, I throw all this at you! Well, that’s my job and what I like to do. Here’s to keeping it real, my friends!
Stacey L. Simmons, DDS
Editorial Director, DE’s Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS
LAST MONTH | 900-plus dental implants, 1 radiograph, and a case of the 'cat got your tongue'
For more articles about clinical dentistry, click here.
Editor's note: This article first appeared inDE's Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS. Find out more about the clinical specialties newsletter created just for dentists, andsubscribe here.
