Can something as simple as asking questions about oral health be helpful in reducing weight, heart disease and diabetes? Clinical studies continue to point to periodontal disease as a risk factor for these costly chronic conditions.
by David Vance
February 15, 2007
Philadelphia — Feb. 15
Can something as simple as asking questions about oral health be helpful in reducing weight, heart disease and diabetes? Clinical studies continue to point to periodontal disease as a risk factor for these costly chronic conditions.
In response, OraMedica International LLC has created the “HealthyGates Dental Health Risk Assessment,” a Web-based interactive dental consumer questionnaire and educational tool.
Employers can seamlessly incorporate it into their wellness and disease management programs to help alert their workforce to early warning signs of cardiovascular disease, cancer and immune-compromising infections that can be present in the mouth.
OraMedica, a Pennsylvania-based dental health and wellness company, recognizes dental questions are commonly left out of most health risk assessments.
“The mouth can be a mirror of general health long before the signs and symptoms of chronic diseases show up on medical tests,” said Dr. Andrea Brockman, OraMedica president. “Identifying dental risk factors as it relates to stress, smoking, lifestyle and nutrition and the links to heart disease, obesity, cancer, infections and chronic pain can prove to be quite beneficial for the health of the individual, as well as the company.”
This tool can function as a funnel into existing wellness initiatives, thus preventing low-risk populations from progressing into a higher chronic health risk group.
The HealthyGates Dental Health Risk Assessment raises the individual’s level of awareness of how their dental health plays a part in weight management, stress, pain and chronic illness.
The connections of dental conditions relative to overall health and the financial ramifications are explained in the white paper, “Reining In Runaway Healthcare Costs: How Adding Oral Health-Care Consumerism Education and Dental Risk Assessments to Health and Wellness Programs Pay Companies Handsome Dividends.”
“The HealthyGates Dental Health Risk Assessment was created because 30 years as a business owner, employer and dentist has taught me that controlling medical plan costs requires a strategy that keeps employees healthy,” Dr. Vincent DiLorenzo, CEO of OraMedica International LLC said.
A crucial step in that strategy is to identify the pertinent oral health risk factors that contribute to chronic ill health, he adds.
“Delaying or avoiding necessary treatment can lead to more serious health problems and is most often the culprit in increased end-care expenses and health care utilization,” DiLorenzo said.