Primary care physicians can play critical role in oral health

A webinar panel hosted by the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative urged providers to incorporate oral health into their primary care practices, according to a press release issued by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

"Expanding access to affordable dental care is an important goal in its own right, but that alone is unlikely to solve our current problem," Kathryn Phillips, MPH, Qualis Health program director, said in the release. "The need is simply too great."

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in children, according to the AAFP. Additionally, "20% of adults have destructive periodontal disease, 25% of seniors have lost all of their natural teeth by age 65, and dental disease may be linked to diabetes and poor pregnancy outcomes," the release stated.

Panelists said PCPs can play an important part in reducing rates of dental disease by increasing prevention without additional staff or equipment. Physicians can screen for oral disease, provide dietary counseling and oral hygiene training, treat with fluoride varnish and refer patients who need additional treatment.

"Primary care is not used to thinking about teeth and gums and instead looked past them, but it's the same anatomy and physiology," Jeff Hummel, MD, MPH, Qualis Health medical director for informatics, said in the release. "Prevention is where primary care lives, and structured referrals are how we do business."

As detailed in the release, Qualis Health is currently assessing oral health integration in 19 primary care practices and will release the results in September 2016.