'The Importance of Medical/Dental Histories in Understanding a Patient’s Overall Health' is Now Live!

What type of medical history questions do you ask your patients? Do you ever update this information for your existing patients? Sometimes patients may not understand why their dentist requires their medical history, or asks for medical updates on subsequent appointments. In the latest Spear Course “The Importance of Medical/Dental Histories in Understanding a Patient’s Overall Health” Hygienist Kim Miller explains why it is crucial for hygienists and dentists to gather this information and to keep updating their patients’ health history. This three part course assists participants to determine why they need to collect medical information from their patients, what conditions to keep any eye on, important health questions to ask, and how medical conditions can impact oral health and periodontal disease. You will learn how to ask the right questions of your patients and gain an understanding of how inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk factors can affect your patient’s oral health – which is often an indication of their overall health.

After viewing this course, participants will:

• Understand the importance of patients pre-existing medical and dental conditions
• Distinguish between risk factors for the progression of disease, medical systemic links to oral health and systemic inflammation
• Apply your understanding of risk factors

Abigail Pfeiffer is the Editor for Spear Education.