The great John Wooden coached UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years. Not only was he a great basketball coach, but he was also an incredible life coach for his players and for many more of us through his books. A couple of his quotes resonate with me as I continue through my dental career. The first is, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts,” and the second is “If I am through learning, I am through.”

We have a responsibility to ourselves and, more importantly, to our patients to stay up to date with evidence-based research and recent advances in dentistry. With advances in technology, we continue to have more information available to us through various resources. The volunteers and team at MDDS have become industry leaders in providing continuing education to dental professionals. They are constantly striving to provide up-to-date information. During monthly meetings, the Education Committee discusses extensive research conducted by a team of scouts at other dental meetings across the country. This information brings experts, who lecture on the most relevant topics in dentistry, to RMDC and MWDI. Over the past several years, there has been increasing emphasis on CE that addresses oral-systemic health. As the links between the mouth and the rest of the body become more evident, the need to stay abreast with the latest research becomes more important than ever. Meeting this growing need, RMDC has developed the Integrated Healthcare Summit. This learning track and the Diagnostic Testing Pavilion in the Expo Hall are designed to educate clinicians on the latest developments in the mouth-body connection and to aid in implementing diagnostic and preventive measures in the dental office.

As a pediatric dentist, I am keenly aware of the synergy between systemic health and oral health. Daily, we see children with oral conditions that are a result of developmental systemic disturbances. Conditions such as hypomineralized molars, chronic aphthous ulcers, severe gingival inflammation, bite discrepancies, conical-shaped teeth, congenitally missing teeth, supernumerary teeth, premature exfoliation of primary teeth, and bone loss can be associated with a systemic condition. As you know, these are only a few examples. Dentists can be integral in identifying these abnormalities and initiating referral to a medical specialist. This can have a positive impact on the child’s overall health and development.

For our adult patients, the links between oral and systemic health are becoming increasingly more evident through recent research. Examples of this include links between the oral microbiome and blood pressure control, and between periodontal disease and multiple systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementia. Oral health can swing the pendulum in either direction for many of these diseases, and the more we educate ourselves on this, the more we can help our patients.

The mouth is a window to the rest of the body. We are experts in a very small part of the body and, as a result, can identify the most intricate changes. From the color of the gingiva to the staining of the teeth to the amount of saliva. The mouth reflects overall health.

As dental students, we all studied the entire body before zooming in on the head and neck, and then finally the mouth. Mastering the skills of dental surgery requires countless hours of intense focus and repetition. As a result, we often become hyper-focused on treating dental decay and periodontal disease, as well as restoring the mouth to healthy form and function. What we need to make sure of is that the connection to the body remains front and center in our approach.