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Hello class,
The article chosen for this week’s discussion is from the national newspaper The New York Times. The title of the article is Why Oral Hygiene Is Crucial to Your Overall Health, written by Hannah Seo on April 6, 2023. The author of the article describes the importance of oral health and health issues that are linked to bad oral health. Inside, a mouth is dark, warm, and wet, which is a perfect place for bacteria to thrive (Seo, 2023). Health issues linked to oral health are gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontal disease can increase the risks of other diseases like diabetes, pneumonia, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy complications, and dementia (Seo, 2023).
The New York Times article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/well/oral-health-hygiene.htmlLinks to an external site.
Oral diseases are among the most common noncommunicable diseases worldwide, affecting an estimated 3.5 billion people (WHO, n.d.). Oral disease affects the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations, with people of low socioeconomic status (WHO, n.d.). In 2019, 3 out of 4 people were affected living in middle-income countries, and 380 billion US dollars was spent on the main oral diseases (WHO, n.d.). On average, 34 million school hours are lost each year because of unplanned dental care, and over $45 billion in US productivity is lost each year due to untreated dental disease (CDC, n.d.). Poor oral health among some groups of people is partly due to health disparities (CDC, n.d.). As of 2024, 57 million Americans live in a dental health professional shortage, and about 67% of the shortage areas are in rural communities (CDC, n.d.). Examples of health disparities are untreated cavities, which are about twice as common among working-age adults with no health insurance coverage (43%) compared with those who have private health insurance coverage (18%) (CDC, n.d.). Untreated cavities were also three times as common among non-Hispanic Black older adults (28%) and more than two times as common among Mexican American older adults (24%) compared to non-Hispanic White older adults (9%) (CDC, n.d.).
Oral health is mostly thought of as a specialty healthcare professionals do not specialize in and are cared for only by dental providers. Some in the health profession education leadership may not be aware that oral diseases are associated with other health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and dementia (Gill et al., 2022). Oral health is an important topic that needs to be addressed in health professional schools. If health professional schools feel like they lack the expertise to teach the topic, partnerships can be made with dental providers or educators (Gill et al., 2022). Collaborations can be made between both specialties to treat oral diseases and reduce the risk of other health conditions related to untreated oral disease.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Health Disparities in oral health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/health-equity/index.htmlLinks to an external site.
Gill, S. A., Quinonez, R. B., Deutchman, M., Conklin, C. E., Rizzolo, D., Rabago, D., Haidet, P., & Silk, H. (2022). Integrating Oral Health into Health Professions School Curricula. Medical education online, 27(1), 2090308. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2022.2090308
Seo, H. (2023, April 6). Why oral hygiene is crucial to your overall health. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/well/oral-health-hygiene.html
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Oral Health. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/health-topics/oral-health#tab=tab_1
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