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In This Section by Trisha O’Hehir, RDH, MS Editorial Director, Hygienetown

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Research is Catching Up with Clinical Practice

by Trisha O’Hehir, RDH, MS Editorial Director, Hygienetown

After several years in the profession and several thousand patients (yes, I’m a slow learner) it occurred to me that very few patients actually lose their teeth because of periodontal disease. In hindsight, there were even some patients with such poor oral hygiene they deserved to lose their teeth, but never did. They had gingivitis that never even progressed to periodontitis. Threatening tooth loss when it never actually happened was not a successful motivational approach. It seems only about five to 10 percent of the population will ever have severe periodontitis. On the other hand, it is true that with good oral health teeth will last a lifetime.

Research has now caught up with clinical practice. It usually takes about 25 years for what clinicians experience to be confirmed with published research. Think about how long ago you realized that smoking was a serious risk factor for periodontal disease – even worse than poor oral hygiene. In some cases, no matter how hard you worked, patients who smoked experienced more periodontal disease. That association is now confirmed with research.

The mouth is indeed connected to the rest of the body and when the mouth is unhealthy, the rest of the body is unhealthy. The first disease to be recognized in this way was diabetes, now considered a bidirectional disease. Out of control diabetes leads to periodontitis and severe periodontitis complicates glycemic control. In addition to diabetes, we’ve seen many other diseases and conditions linked to oral diseases. As the medical community came to realize so many diseases were actually bacterial infections, links were identified between oral bacterial biofilm and cytokine release in periodontal tissues and cardiovascular disease, stroke, pulmonary infections, preterm-low birth weight birth, and more recently arthritis, obesity and cancer.

This month’s focus is on the implications and connections between the mouth and the rest of the body, both scientifically and practically. Townie Sarah Cottingham presents the practical approach incorporating this new information into clinical practice. Perio Reports highlights findings in the arena of diabetes and our message board and clinical case also focus on this important connection.
Inside This Section
94         Perio Reports
98         Profile in Oral Health: It Is All Related
102      Message Board: “Oral-Systemic Periodontal Therapy” – A Case Study
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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