{"id":22008,"date":"2026-09-16T18:54:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T18:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=22008"},"modified":"2026-09-16T18:54:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T18:54:35","slug":"the-oral-health-blind-spot-putting-whole-body-care-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=22008","title":{"rendered":"The oral health blind spot putting whole-body care at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This article has been reviewed by a Digital Journal editor and may be licensed for reuse.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oral disease has become one of the world\u2019s most widespread health problems, affecting an estimated 3.7 billion people, according to the World Health Organization. Against that backdrop, untreated dental disease remains an acutely rampant health condition globally, despite many situations being preventable and treatable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The extent of this problem can be difficult to reconcile with the way healthcare is organized. The mouth tends to be treated as a specialist territory, separated from the organs and systems managed elsewhere in medicine. Yet the evidence continues to point towards a more complicated picture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Heart Association highlighted growing evidence linking periodontal disease with cardiovascular disease, including associations with heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Still, an association may not establish that gum disease directly causes cardiovascular disease, and more research could be required to establish whether periodontal treatment changes cardiovascular outcomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prevention paradox emerges in that gap between what medicine knows and what patients routinely consider. Teeth often become part of the wider health conversation only after pain, infection, or another complication makes the connection impossible to ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Dr. Kari L. Sakurai, DDS, Cosmetic Aesthetic Dentist at Pacific View Smile Center, that disconnect reflects a healthcare system that has become too accustomed to dividing the patient into separate clinical territories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a dentist and as an academician, my purpose is to educate,\u201d Dr. Sakurai explains. \u201cPatients need to understand that their teeth are not like fingernails. They\u2019re connected to the bloodstream; they can infect your heart, your brain, and other organs. That\u2019s why I work with physicians as more of a whole-health concept, versus fractionated little specialties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The consequences can become particularly serious around medical treatment. Dr. Sakurai points to patients receiving bisphosphonate drugs for osteoporosis. The medication can increase bone density, but an existing dental infection can create a serious complication involving jawbone death, known as medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. Her argument is that treatment decisions cannot always be safely made within one specialty\u2019s boundaries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her experience with a heart-lung transplant team provides another example. Dr. Sakurai recalls demonstrating the value of dental assessment before patients became immunocompromised, arguing that a relatively simple $50 screening could spare patients prolonged intensive-care treatment. She recalls being able to show the hospital that the intervention saved 10 days of ICU time in some cases and represented millions of dollars in savings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Communication, in her view, becomes the practical fault line. A patient may consider an eye medication irrelevant to a dental appointment, yet Dr. Sakurai points out that certain glaucoma treatments can affect the choice of anaesthetic. Antidepressant medication can also alter what a dentist can safely administer. \u201cThese things are all interconnected,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe take an oath to do no harm. I want to be able to make sure that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same principle applies to blood pressure. Dr. Sakurai recalls repeatedly finding elevated readings in a patient who had recently started medication, then contacting the patient\u2019s physician. The patient, she reveals, was sent directly for medical review, illustrating how a dental appointment can become an opportunity to identify a wider health concern.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technology cannot solve every communication gap. Physicians and dentists are often trained inside separate professional dialects, rewarded for technical precision rather than plain explanation, and patients absorb the confusion. \u201cIf you can explain a procedure to a five-year-old, and that five-year-old can explain it to somebody else, that\u2019s true intelligence,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not about using big, fancy words. It\u2019s about presenting a concept that they can fully hold onto and use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Dr. Sakurai, a patient who grasps the connection between a ground molar and a splitting headache may become a patient who asks the right question at the next appointment, with the next specialist, before the next prescription gets written.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also sees patience as holding a role in closing the gap. Dr. Sakurai believes accessible education can turn people into more informed advocates for their own care, giving clinicians better information to work with and creating stronger dialogue across specialties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Closing the knowledge gap, from her perspective, ultimately starts with patients who expect their providers to talk to each other, and with professionals willing to build the bridges that training may have never taught them to build. The tools for prevention already exist. What Dr. Sakurai believes is missing is the habit of using them before the cost turns into an emergency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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background:#ffe066; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114299\" data-width=\"300\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114299});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ff9ecd; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114305\" data-width=\"250\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114305});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:139px; background:#c792ea; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> The oral health blind spot putting whole-body care at risk<br \/>\n<br \/>#oral #health #blind #spot #putting #wholebody #care #risk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article has been reviewed by a Digital Journal editor and may be licensed for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7594,3572,715,8671,3532,3533,330,16133],"class_list":["post-22008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-blind","tag-care","tag-health","tag-oral","tag-putting","tag-risk","tag-spot","tag-wholebody"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46.png",1600,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-768x432.png",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-1024x576.png",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46.png",1600,900,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-1115x715.png",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-800x500.png",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-540x340.png",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TechTO-11-46-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}