- Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in
to the Becker's Healthcare podcast.
My name is Mariah Mohammed.
I'm thrilled to be joined today by Dr.
Timothy J Court, senior Vice President
of Clinical Operation at Heartland Dental.
Doctor, thank you so much for joining us today.
Let's jump right into today's conversation.
So, uh, could you please tell me a bit more about your role
as Senior Vice Presidents
of clinical operations at at Harland Dental?
- Yeah, thanks Mariah. Really appreciate it.
Love being here. Love, uh, you know,
going over all these different topics.
It's always fun. Um, so again,
like you said, my name is Tim Court.
I'm a Senior Vice President at Heartland.
I'm a dentist, uh,
and actually affiliated with Heartland Dental back in, uh,
I think it's 2012, so it's been about 12 years now.
I had a variety of roles during this time.
Uh, practiced throughout, uh, most of them
and more recently, uh, kind of, uh, put myself,
got myself into this situation of, of, of VP and,
and with this role, uh,
have some oversight over our hygiene teams,
our doctor mentoring throughout the country, um,
our specialty side of the business.
And also, um, a program
that we call Office Growth Management, which just helps, uh,
practices grow and, and see additional providers
and doctors and hygienists.
'cause we all know right now
it's real hard to get hygienists.
So we've got some kind of cool things
behind the scenes, uh, in the work.
So anyway, there's a little variety there, uh, Mariah,
but the key thing is, is I just wake up every day trying
to connect our clinical and our operations teams together.
- Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much
for giving us that insight.
And so what you really do,
and to really begin our conversation today,
could you explain the concept of oral systemic connection?
- Yeah, no, and it, it's, it's definitely a big subject.
It's been around, I mean, in terms of this term
for quite a long time now,
but I feel like it's, it's getting even more.
Um, I know just important.
Uh, and if you're talking like out there, if you're talking
to a dentist, I think we all kinda laugh a little bit
because we all realize
and understand that what happens in the mouth also could
have a potential systemic connection and vice versa.
You know, I, I, I think there's some out there
that don't know or don't feel like there's a connection
there, but in fact, , there are things
that happen in the mouth that can, that can in fact, uh,
you know, affect other things.
So, and research has shown that conditions, you know,
like one example, gum disease can truly impact your systemic
health, you know,
and it can contribute to issues like heart disease,
diabetes, and even, uh, pregnancy complications.
So, and again, this is, it just underscores the importance
of viewing oral health as integral to one's overall, uh,
you know, health and wellbeing.
- Yeah, absolutely. I think even for myself, I didn't know
that there was a connection until maybe a couple years ago.
Yeah. I think it definitely needs to be, you know,
talked about a bit more.
- You're not the only one . Yes,
- Absolutely.
Um, and could you explain why it is important for patients
to understand this link?
- Yeah, no, again, you know, kind of, sort of
what I just said with that, with the link itself, um,
it can empower them to take control of their health in,
in a more holistic manner.
What I mean by that is a more, uh, rounded manner by,
you know, recognizing that oral health
influences systemic health.
You know, it's can create some motivation
and to kind of prioritize, prioritize dental care
and maintain good oral hygiene habits,
which can positively impact their ob
uh, their overall wellness.
And, you know, I'd like to underscore too
that dentists in general, we see patients, uh, more,
more often than they actually see their, uh,
their physicians, so their primary care physicians.
And, and that's why it's so important that both sides,
patient doctors, medical doctors
and dentists, um, also understand that, hey, we've got a,
a big part in discussing this, looking after patients
and also having strong connections with our medical friends.
You know, as we see issues that, um, you know, pop up,
for example, taking blood pressures
of patients that come in.
Um, I can't tell you how many times when I was practicing
where there was a patient
that had an incredibly high blood pressure,
was actually unaware of it, uh, we got them
to their physicians
and, um, they thanked us afterwards saying, you know,
it's incredible now these patients haven't come
to see me in five, 10 years or,
or whatever the, uh, the term is.
But still, long story short, so important
that everybody understands it
because we see these patients a lot
and there is a, a strong connection there.
- Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
And as we both kind of stated, you know, not a lot
of people are aware of this link.
Um, what should, uh, clinicians keep in mind with speaking
with patients about the oral systemic link?
- Yeah, absolutely. And it just, like I said, one
of the big ones is showing value to the patients.
Meaning just like taking blood pressures, like, hey,
we wanna, we wanna do some of these things for you.
Obviously there's no charge on things like that,
but it's just a great thing for a patient.
Uh, and it, like I said, there's just
so many times when we go, oh, I gosh,
that patient had no clue.
Now, when speaking with patients about this link,
clinicians should also emphasize, you know,
that everything is so connected that it's the oral
and systemic health in a clear and relatable manner.
So it, it's, you know, we can use visual cues, diagrams,
animations, you know,
we can help patients grasp the cons more effectively in
our practices.
Additionally, clinicians should encourage open dialogue
and address any questions or concerns
that those patients have.
So now we've got this great doctor to patient
and I'm talking from a, from a dental standpoint,
and then I, you know, I'm really highly encouraged the
dentist to connect
with their medical friends in their community too.
Um, and just, uh, really start to kind
of educate each other on what you could do for, uh,
one another in order to get this, um, connection stronger.
- Yeah, yeah, definitely.
And what can doctors do, um, to be on the cutting edge
of oral systemic healthcare
and kind of incorporate these, uh,
principles into their practice?
- Yeah, uh, you know, one thing is you
gotta really pick a topic.
So for example, I really would look strongly into
periodontal disease and its con connection with diabetes.
Um, and so that's a big one that we see quite often
where if somebody is diabetic, um,
and they typically will have periodontal disease
that's even more severe
'cause they have a, a little bit more difficult
time, uh, healing.
Um, so definitely taking courses,
that's probably the biggest thing.
Taking courses on nutrition, uh, any of the latest research
that's out there because there just seems
to be almost every year more
and more research that comes out about the connection about,
you know, with oral and systemic connection
and just trying to keep up with it.
And then as you're taking those courses,
bringing it back into your own practices and,
and educating your patients.
It is one of the most important tools
that we have when we're working with patients is, uh,
you know, not only the technical as aspect of it,
but also the education aspect.
And sometimes I think we might, uh, lose sight of that.
And that's not just the doctor, that's the whole team.
Making sure everybody's, you know, coming along on that
and educating your team so that they can also, um, kind
of disseminate all that, all that education
and learnings to the patients.
Uh, and then there's also advanced kind of diagnostic tools.
Um, so I know in some states
and, uh, even the a DA many years ago they started, um,
putting codes in for, um, uh,
diabetic testing, so blood sugar testing
inside the practice.
Um, and so that, you know, that's another tool.
Another thing be, and the reason why they are facilitating
that or, or suggesting that from a dental side is again,
the fact that patients come
to dentists more often than they go to their medical doctor.
So from a diagnostic
and almost screening side of things, um,
can a dental practice help with that
and facilitate, um, you know, the screening of that
and then being able to send over to a specialist
or back to their primary care?
So, um, again, just keeping up with it
and educating, I think are the two, um, uh, biggest facets.
- Yeah, yeah, that definitely makes sense.
And how can hygienists best educate patients about
this essential connection?
Do you have any tips for them?
- Yeah, very similar. I mean, just keep up with it.
I would also discuss with your, um, your doctors in, in
that particular practice, if they aren't doing some
of these things such as taking blood pressures.
'cause any type of chairside discussion you can have
with a patient and education is awesome.
Um, there's also, you know, uh,
especially there's def courses on personalized hygiene plans
that you can actually, um, create for patients.
So for example, if you are a patient that is diabetic, um,
you also have a, let's say a, a fairly severe form
of periodontal disease.
You might wanna ask those, uh, patients
to come in more regularly than you would somebody else
or to go back to their primary care
and see if they can get their diabetes more under control.
'cause they could be an uncontrolled diabetic,
which also makes things much more difficult.
Um, so your hygienists need
to be up on the most current things.
Um, if you're a hygienist that's in an office
that maybe isn't having these type of discussions
or, you know, is, um, on top of what's going on with this,
it's great to discuss with your doctor
and see if you can take some CE courses
that are directed to it.
But it's gonna take all of us.
And, and like I said, it's a patient, dentist
and medical doctor kind of triad there.
They all have to be strong in communicating in order for us
to get the point across
that there's a link between both of them.
- Yeah, yeah. Absolutely.
Is there anything else you would like to share,
doctor, before I let you go?
- You know, I, I just wanna emphasize that the connection,
again, I know we've said it multiple times,
but it really does promote comprehensive health.
And that's really the idea of what we do for a living.
It's help our patients to be preventative and healthy and,
and have wellness for the rest of their lives.
So if we can integrate some of these approaches, um,
either from a screening side
or an education side, you know, I,
I really think this will be great
because it'll increase patient awareness
and clinicians in general can make just a huge impact on the
overall health outcomes of a whole population.
You know, many dental practices have thousands
and thousands of patients, so every little bit counts.
And, and if we can get through to patients that hey,
continue to keep those regular appointments not only
with me, the dentist, but also with your medical doctor,
your primary care, that'll just help you live a, you know,
an even healthier life.
And, uh, that's kind of the main reason.
We just want people to be healthy.
- Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
Well, I wanna thank you so much, doctor,
for sharing your time and insights with us today, um, along
with Heartland Dental for sponsoring today's content.
To our listeners, thank you so much for joining us
and please make sure to check out other Becker's podcast.
Um, thank you again Doctor,
and we hope you have a rest, wonderful rest of your day.
- Thanks, Maria, I appreciate it.