"My diabetes is my doctor's problem"

This patient had broken a tooth on a ginger nut biscuit, one of my favorites.

She had reported commencing medication with Metformin for recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

So I asked her, “ how do the gingernuts go with your Metformin and diabetes?”. She said it was only three months since her diagnosis and then indicated it was for her doctor to manage as she wasn’t going to go without her treats.

It made me consider where her dentist fits within her health support network.

Currently collaboration betweeen oral health professionasls and GPs is ad hoc and its fair to say varying in its effectiveness. In practice, this piece of research suggests that intentions are good but in the reality of day to day practice, collaboration is poor.

I’m not sure what the process is for the patient when they are first diagnosed with a NCD such as type 2 diabetes. My thoughts go to a team of people such as diabetes educator, exercise physiologist etc? I Googled this and here’s the recommended team.

Perhaps my patient was being flippant, however, I feel that there is an increasing sense of inevitability in the popultaion that conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are part of the aging process. This piece of research seems to affirm this.

So what about dental diseases which are also non communicable diseases with common risk factors to the other disease already discussed?

Surely the more we can work cooperatively with our medical peers the better.

How do we go about re focusing the profession’s attention on this when there are so many other areas of practice that are more exciting, glamorous or results easier to see?

And with an already crowded dental curriculum and pressures on obtaining dental clinical experieince, how do we train the dentist of the future in this aspect of patient care?”

Have a great weel and don’t forget to share with a friend

Rosie