Why you should go to the dentist

If there’s one thing you could do for your health today, it’s to book an appointment to go see a dentist. I’m not a dentist, I’m not trying to drum up more work for myself, quite the opposite. I am a doctor in the emergency department (ED).

Most people probably don’t realise that doctors get next to no training in teeth. Yes it is a body part. But for some reason that is not entirely clear to me, there are two very divergent and separate professions that deal with a) teeth, and b) basically everything else. Most medical degrees in Australia are 4 years of postgraduate study, and dentistry is 4 years of postgraduate study. They have 4 entire years of learning about teeth, we cannot compete with that and we do not want to.

Common presentations to the ED include people suffering from toothache. We will take a look at your teeth, and look for signs of infection, but ultimately all we can do is provide you with pain relief as a temporary measure, antibiotics if indicated, and advice to go and see a dentist.

What many people seem to not know about the ED, is that we are trained to look for and rule out life-threatening emergencies, and decide whether people need, in order of what is most common:

1) go home and rest (+/- follow up with GP or other health care professional)

2) be admitted to hospital for care, or

3) obtain immediate life-saving treatment.

It doesn’t take a dentistry degree to know that poor dentition, that is having teeth in poor condition- such as lots of holes, or eroded teeth, or missing teeth (usually due to having lots of holes, leading to infection and teeth being pulled put) results in poorer health. Your teeth are the gateway to chewing and eating, which is generally important for obtaining nutrients that the body needs to; literally exist, be free of conditions resulting from nutrient deficiencies- such as anaemia, osteoporosis, and broken bones- and have an improved ability to fight infection. Not to mention, the ability to speak coherently, the joy that comes from eating and enjoying food, and the mental health benefits of eating and smiling.

I know the dentist is expensive. I know the cost can seem out of reach for many people, particularly the most vulnerable in our community, who are ironically also probably the most in need of dental care.

Yes I come from a privileged background, the biggest privilege being the education I have been fortunate to receive. I have studied at University for 9 years, obtaining 3 degrees, one of which is a Master of Public Health. If I could make healthcare and dentists free I would, because I’ve seen the studies and models in other countries, and know that would ultimately both improve people’s health and save the government money in hospital costs. But for now, we have to take it upon ourselves to spend our money wisely, investing in our future health and well-being.

I want you to think about what your teeth are really worth, because they are really worth quite a bit to your overall health. It’s hard (and more expensive) to fix or replace teeth that have been left without care. It can be even harder still, or sometimes impossible, to recover from some of the medical conditions that result from poor dentition.

I care about preventing people coming to the ED with problems we cannot fix, but more than that in helping people to prevent themselves getting sick in the first place.

Book in to see your dentist today, and for goodness sake, bare, bare minimum, brush those pearly whites. Doctors orders.