Expanding the Role of Oral Physician in Early Diagnosis of Commonly Occurring Systemic Diseases

Abstract

Dentistry deals with the identification, mitigation, and prevention of diseases of teeth, gums, mouth, and jaw. Dentistry can have an effect on your overall health and for treating patients with chronic diseases and other conditions safely and effectively, dentists need to have a solid knowledge of basic clinical medicine. Dentists should possess the same level of knowledge as physicians in all other branches of medicine due to changes in life expectancy and lifestyles, as well as the rapid advancement of biomedical sciences and help in diagnosing systemic diseases based on oral findings. The present review throws a spotlight on these activities and also suggests some of the measures that can be adopted to modify dental education to turn dentists into oral physicians by early diagnosing of systemic diseases. Key words: Dentistry, disease, education, physician, primary care