Call for better communication between health practitioners

IT should be standard protocol for health care practitioners to refer patients with non communicable diseases (NCDs) to the dentist.

So says President of the Barbados Hygienists Association, Jemma Richardson. She made the call for greater communication between these health practitioners, while addressing those attending the opening of the Caribbean Dental Program conference at Accra Beach Hotel earlier this week, as she explained that there are a lot of studies that have identified a systemic periodontal and dental link with NCDs. The President of the Hygienists Association’s comments came as she referred to the World Health Organisation January 2015, fact sheet, which showed that NCDs kill 38 million people annually.
 
“There is a very distinct link and too often you would find patients showing up at their primary health care providers, physicians, even to specialists, with coronary artery diseases, myocardial infarctions, diabetes, low birth rates, bacterial pneumonia infection, endocarditis, even psoriasis, kidney failures, things like that and they make more mention of the importance of these patients seeing the dentist,” she said.
 
Richardson added, “Far too often I am seeing in our practice, cases of patients coming in, having gone through radiation and chemotherapy with a mouthful of cavities and other issues. And they would not have been told by their attending physicians of the need to see the dentist.”
 
Speaking earlier, Barbados’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations Keith “Tony” Marshall, delivering the feature address, also made mention of the link between NCDs and oral health, contending that it is important that dentists not only promote oral health and hygiene, but also the reduction of sugar and fats in patients’ diets. Moreover, he said dentists are well positioned to identify diseases.
 
“Dentists have a unique access to people who do not consider themselves ill. From the time you look in that person’s mouth, I understand, you have an idea how well that person is, and your role is vastly more important than extracting $60,” he said.
 
With that in mind, he said that local dentists should also promote oral health care in the National Health Programme. He is adamant that this role is not for the Barbados Dental Association, but each individual dentist. (JRT)

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