Episode #108 - How Dentists are Saving Lives Not Just Cleaning Teeth with Dr. Amy Doneen

The Best Practices Show

Dr. Amy Doneen runs The Heart Attack & Stroke Prevention Center in Spokane, WA. She has academic appointments at the Washington State University School of Medicine and University of Kentucky Dental School. She is also the author of Beat the Heart Attack Gene. We have had her on the show before, and it was so much fun we ran out of time. She is brilliant, and you will see how everything from medicine to dental ties together in this show.

We talk about the connection between cardiovascular health and periodontal and endodontal health. Dr. Amy Doneen is extremely passionate about this subject and has the goal of knocking heart attack off the top of the list as the number one cause of death in the US by 2020. She emphasizes the importance of dental and medical practitioners working together and offers practical solutions.

You can find Amy here:

The Heart Attack & Stroke Prevention Center

Beat the Heart Attack Gene

Bale Doneen Method

Dr. Amy Doneen on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[02:31] How Beat the Heart Attack Gene is written for everyone from patients to doctors. This book will actually have patients wanting to come to the office more often once they realize how important dental health is for stroke and heart attack prevention.

[02:57] Heart attacks and strokes are claiming lives at alarming rates. Our passion is to remove heart attacks as the number one cause of death by 2020. This would be impossible without the help of our dental colleagues.

[04:04] We are passionate about nurses, doctors, and dentists talking to each other and realizing that this is connected to the entire body.

[04:35] The high risk of periodontal pathogens and how they affect the heart health. Patients are left vulnerable if you ignore what is going on in the mouth.

[05:45] No one spends more time proactively with human beings. This is an incredible dental opportunity to slow things down and make an impact to the people to you serve.

[06:34] How the medical system is broken because it picks people up after they have already failed or had a heart attack or stroke.

[07:05] People slowly develop plaque in the wall of the artery. The bodies natural response is to heal it with a scab. If the scab blocks the flow of blood it is a heart attack in the heart or a stroke in the brain. We look at the causal effects of vascular disease including periodontal pathogens.

[08:31] There are many causes of heart disease, but periodontal and endodontic problems are major causes. Dentists and hygienists deserve huge praise in the world of cardiovascular health.

[09:42] Read the literature and become your own expert. Make this a conversation instead of a challenging topic. The gum line and the roots of the teeth can cause heart attacks or plaque development.

[11:02] The Dental Endorsement Package which allows dentists to use Dr. Doneen's branding to endorse dentists that do their method.

[11:48] They provide endorsed dentists with packets and brochures to educate their patients.

[12:13] Finding a medical provider that is aligned with understanding inflammation as it pertains to cardiovascular health.

[13:22] The Preceptorship program is a 17 hour course that goes over what causes heart disease and all of the tools and treatments available to manage it. This course brings everyone up to a new level of understanding. The method is proven.

[14:57] Periodontal disease is a medical problem with a dental solution.

[15:16] Inflammation and genetics in precision health care.

[16:05] Having precision responses to pathogens based on individual genetics. How genetics are one of the most affordable tests that we can do.

[17:12] Genetic tests that give plausible health information.

[19:25] The importance of dentists and hygienists and embracing dental colleagues. Dentists should promote their focus on systemic health.

[20:43] Instead of giving floss and brushes give pedometers and think bigger.

Links and Resources:

Peer-reviewed BaleDoneen Study Published in Postgraduate Medical Journal (PMJ)

Dental Endorsement Package

The BaleDoneen Preceptorship Course