Dental professionals can make a marked and positive difference to public health by being trained to spot some of the key markers of chronic disease, according to new research.
The study, published in the British Dental Journal, saw two general dental practices implement a suite of health screens for those attending regular dental check-ups.
It meant that as well as examining their oral health, patients were offered checks for their blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio.
Of more than 500 patients seen, 78% had blood pressure values above normal range, well over half (55.8%) were outside of the healthy range for BMI, and almost 40% had an above average waist-to-height ratio.
The tests also found just under 17% of patients exhibited out-of-range cholesterol results while high blood glucose values were observed for just over 3% of those seen.
All of the patients whose results were outside of the normal range were verbally advised to make an appointment with their GP for follow-up care.
The study's authors included Professor Robert Witton and Dr Martha Paisi from the Peninsula Dental School, which - through its Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise - provides appointments to more than 5,500 patients each year at clinics in Plymouth, Exeter and Truro.
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