How Dentists Provide Palliative Oral Health Care to Patients With Serious Illnesses
Patients with serious illnesses like cancer and diabetes are typically at a higher risk of developing dental health issues. That’s why dentists use a different approach when working with them. To help you better understand, here’s how dental professionals provide palliative oral health care to such patients.
1. Keeping Track of Medication Interactions
Drug interactions can have various potential effects. They could be antagonistic (depressing the drug’s therapeutic impact), synergistic (amplifying the therapeutic benefit of the drug), and additive (two medications combining to amplify either or both actions. Any of these could have detrimental or even fatal effects. That’s why your dentist will ensure they keep track of the medications you’re taking so they can account for how a certain drug may interact with treatment. Some could affect how your body responds and, ultimately, how dental treatment is administered.
For instance, medications like blood thinners may elevate your risk of bleeding during dental operations. In such a case, the dental team may find it more difficult to control bleeding, necessitating additional medications or procedures. Other medicines, like those prescribed for depression or anxiety, can impact how you respond to local anesthesia. Due to this interaction, it becomes more challenging to sufficiently numb the area, which increases discomfort throughout the process. In the case of hormone replacement, it can actually help reduce your risk of developing dental issues.
2. Improving Quality of Life
Diseases like tooth caries can lead to pain, difficulty sleeping, decreased appetite, impaired chewing, and decreased daily functioning. These diseases may also result in edentulism, which alters speech and facial structure, impacting a person’s psychological health, social confidence, stress levels, and self-perception. It can also make the affected individual frustrated and trigger feelings of depression, causing them to isolate themselves. Luckily, dentures and denture supplies can help mitigate the effects.
Your oral health is tied to your overall quality of life as it affects your social interactions and acceptance, how you see yourself, general health, and oral function. These highlight the significance of using oral health to improve patients’ quality of life, unify medical specialties in patient care, employ preventative medicine, and give patients more control over their health. As a response, the dental profession is broadening its area of practice to include general health education and preventative health screening, collaborating with other health care experts, having open communication, and embracing broader consultation.
3. Weigh the Pros and Cons of Invasive Treatments
Before recommending an invasive treatment like a root canal, an endodontist weighs the pros and cons to ensure it’s appropriate. They can’t just jump right into it. One benefit of root canal treatment is that it allows you to keep the natural tooth.
The dental professional removes the inflamed or infected pulp tissue and then cleans out the root canal before replacing it with filling material. Since you get to keep the natural tooth, you don’t have to worry about experiencing bone loss. The tooth’s root continues stimulating the bone so you can maintain your natural smile.
Getting a root canal also helps to prevent gaps in the mouth. Patients who opt for extractions instead have to deal with gaps. The teeth start to gradually shift to fill in the spaces. This often results in alignment problems, making something as simple as eating difficult. With a root canal, your teeth stay in place, eliminating the risk of developing alignment issues.
Even with all these great benefits, there are cons to opting for root canal treatment. For example, your tooth may become weaker. This is because the dentist has to drill through the tooth to reach the pulp.
Luckily, there’s a way to address this. If your dental professional realizes your tooth is too weak to function, they’ll reinforce it with a crown. Doing this will strengthen it and allow you to use it like your natural tooth.
4. Working With Medicare for Older Patients
Routine dental care is crucial to older patients’ general health and well-being. It allows dentists to diagnose potential health problems early on, which goes a long way toward preventing unnecessary illnesses and health risks. As we age, things like gum disease, tooth loss, and cavities can worsen and affect our everyday lives more severely, compromising our ability to eat a healthy diet and even our moods.
Medicare Parts A and B usually don’t cover senior dental services such as regular checkups, x-rays, crowns, bridges, cavity fillings, and cleanings. This might surprise you because dental health, especially in older adults, is known to significantly impact general health. It’s important to understand the scope of coverage for senior dental care by Medicare.
Medicare Parts A and B will pay for dental care under certain conditions. For example, if one suffers a jaw injury, it’ll cover the cost of reconstruction services. Emergency dental procedures are also included in the coverage.
Other than that, Medicare Parts A and B will pay for hospital stays following dental procedures if necessary. Patients must have a preliminary dental exam before undergoing a medical operation such as a kidney or heart transplant. Luckily, Medicare covers it. If you or your loved one needs senior dental care, look for medicare insurance near me to explore your options.
5. Maintaining First Aid Skills
To protect their patients, all dental practitioners must regularly complete first aid for dentist training, including topics like Medical Emergencies and CPR. Dental practice owners are also legally obligated to ensure that employees who become ill or are hurt while on the premises immediately get medical assistance. First aid can prevent a small crisis from becoming a serious one. In the worst-case scenario, prompt response to injury or illness can be the difference between life and death.
Some common medical emergencies occur in dentistry. For example, a patient may experience a simple faint or, in medical terms, vasovagal syncope. It’s usually due to a decrease in blood flow to the brain. There are several reasons why this may happen. However, in a dental practice, a fainting spell may occur due to anxiety, emotional stress, fear, or pain.
Some people are allergic to local anesthetics. Even if it’s not common, it’s important to consider. If an allergic reaction does occur, the situation should be handled like any other incidence of anaphylaxis.
Considering the quantity of local anesthetics used in dental offices, the rates of complications are minimal. Dentists with a first aid certificate know how to recognize the signs and symptoms. More often than not, a local anesthetic injection causes fainting than an allergic reaction to the anesthetic itself.
6. Working Alongside Medical Equipment
Dental professionals work alongside several pieces of medical equipment in their practice. For example, when a problem isn’t obvious, they use an X-ray machine to get a detailed view of the bones and teeth. Without an X-ray, detecting issues such as early decay can be difficult.
They also use a suction device to remove the debris and saliva that tends to accumulate during most dental procedures, as it can make a dentist’s work much more difficult. A dental drill is another medical equipment that’s commonly used. The vibrations and sound produced by the drill when it comes into contact with your teeth make for an odd sensation, but it’s nothing to worry about. The dentist uses the drill to remove any decay on the tooth before they can fill the cavity.
However, sometimes, they use it to polish and smoothen the tooth once they complete a procedure. Dentists understand the importance of using optimally functioning equipment. That’s why they take recall orders seriously. The Medical Device Tracking Regulation was created to ensure manufacturers that produce and import specific medical devices can quickly identify, remove, and/or alert consumers to serious device problems.
7. Working With Medicaid to Cover Costs
Dentists understand that healthcare costs are quite high. While some people can effortlessly cover their medical bills, it’s not the case for everyone. For example, if someone earning minimum wage or their loved one experiences a major health issue that necessitates extensive treatment and medical procedures, they likely won’t manage to cover all the costs.
To help relieve the burden off your patients, consider working with Medicaid. Medicaid is a combined federal-state program that assists some individuals with low incomes and resources in paying for medical expenses. All state Medicaid programs must abide by broad federal regulations, but each state manages its program.
Work with a Medicaid lawyer to understand what you must do to incorporate Medicaid into your practice. Once you set it up, more people will be attracted to seeking dental services from your practice. At the end of the day, it’s a win for everyone.
8. Maintaining Scrupulously Safe Facilities
Dental offices ensure their facilities are safe and clean for their patients in several ways. For starters, they follow all industry guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provide disinfection guidelines that, when followed, stop bacteria from spreading in dental offices. Owners of dental practices ensure that everyone using dental instruments in their facility is aware of and abides by these rules. They also post the guidelines in visible locations of the office.
One of the things emphasized by the guidelines is regularly disinfecting clinical contact surfaces, or in simple terms, any surface that’s frequently touched. Despite not coming into contact with patients or bodily fluids directly, it’s possible for things like faucets, drawer handles, and light switches to become contaminated regularly. Dental offices make a conscious effort to disinfect such surfaces through regular cleaning and sanitizing.
They also keep the waiting area clean as they understand it’s the first point of interaction with the facility. This involves cleaning the draperies, upholstery, and carpets to prevent stains and mitigate the accumulation of dirt and dust in the facility. Besides that, they also have someone who regularly wipes down the magazine racks, sitting areas, and tables.
Dental practices regularly conduct legionella testing to ensure their facility’s water is safe. Doing this is key to preventing outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, which can sometimes be fatal. These are just some of the precautions taken to ensure you’re safe.
9. Helping Patients Keep Hope Alive
Experienced dentists know palliative dental care is a continuous journey. Most serious illnesses are draining physically, emotionally, and financially. Without support, it’s easy for a patient to lose hope, which only exacerbates the symptoms they’re experiencing. For this reason, dentists strive to foster an environment of respect and understanding with their patients so they can feel relaxed and open to talking about what they’re going through.
It’s the first step to motivating them. Dental health professionals also understand that each patient is unique, and what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another. They carefully listen to each patient’s concerns and mirror their use of words. Modern medicine development is embracing a patient-centered approach.
10. Treating Symptoms to Alleviate Suffering
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as an approach that improves a patient’s quality of life and that of their family. It focuses on impeccable assessment and early detection to prevent or provide pain relief. Providing palliative care entails attending to a patient’s emotional, spiritual, and physical needs and those of the family. Palliative care dentistry is particularly beneficial for patients nearing the end of their lives. These individuals are highly vulnerable to dental issues that might develop into oral dysfunction, resulting in needless discomfort and pain, lowering their quality of life.
In the case of cancer treatment, palliative dentistry helps with common side effects such as severe tooth decay, oral thrush or candidiasis, mouth sores or inflammation, and dry mouth. The dentist will examine you or your loved one and consult your healthcare team before recommending a specific dental treatment plan. Palliative dental care treatments may include anti-fungal medications for oral thrush, mouth sores, antibiotics, mouth rinse recommendations for dry mouth, preventive care, or more frequent checkups.
People with diabetes are also at a higher risk of developing oral health issues. Dentists will likely recommend more frequent checkups as they undergo medical weight loss treatment as part of palliative care. They’ll then adjust the dental care approach as they watch the disease progress.
Palliative dentistry focuses on improving a patient’s overall quality of life. It’s especially beneficial for those suffering from terminal illnesses. Look for a reputable dentist to partner with you on your dental care journey.
