Can Proactive Dental Care Prevent Alzheimer’s? By: Dr. Dan Sindelar, DMD

One of the subjects in healthcare that affects everybody is Alzheimer’s disease. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t been affected by this debilitating disease, which so often robs us of our precious Golden Years and costs us billions every year in healthcare expenses.
And unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that this problem is going away. It’s recently been estimated that by the year 2050, the number of Alzheimer’s disease patients will have tripled to over 13.8 million.

The subject of oral health-related dementia is nothing new, either. Several recent studies have concluded that periodontal disease and/or tooth loss early in life indicates an increased risk of dementia. But it appears that the correlation doesn’t end there. New research is finding that common oral pathogens may not only contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s—they may cause it.
So what does this mean for the dental profession? At this point, we can’t treat Alzheimer’s from a dental chair. With salivary diagnostic technology, however, we can test for these periodontal pathogens that increase our patients’ risk for Alzheimer’s disease, in the same way we test for P. gingivalis to assess risk for heart disease.
And of course, through awareness and education early in life, we can help our patients reduce their risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s instead of waiting for it to show up later. Once again, it’s all about that simple yet crucial conversation you have with patients while they’re in your office.
Do you talk to your patients about new research on oral systemic health?

View the video and read the original Blog posted by Dr. Dan Sindelar, DMD here.