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Good morning.

What if your smile could tell a bigger story—about your heart, your blood sugar, or even stress on your immune system?

Today, we’re celebrating how dentistry is evolving into a powerful window into whole-body health. We’re talking about spotting early signs of chronic illness through routine exams and embracing a role as frontline health advocates.

In Today’s Edition:

1. Mouth as Medicine: Key findings from the article in Business Standard

2. Recap from ADA’s "Dentistry’s Role in Complete Health" symposium

3. Oral-Systemic Research: linking oral signs to systemic disease

4. Sleep’s Missing Link: Why sleep belongs in every health conversation

5. Growth opportunity for practices: holistic care as a cornerstone

5-minute read👇

Clinical Corner

🥼Use the clinical corner as your secret weapon to impress your colleagues and patients!

Key Takeaways🔑

Mouth = A Window to Your Health Status

A recent Business Standard article cites Lt Gen Dr. Vimal Arora:

“Your dentist, in addition to spotting dental diseases, can often identify signs of viral infections (like HIV/Aids), nutritional deficiencies (such as B12 or iron deficiency), autoimmune conditions (like Sjogren’s syndrome), and systemic illnesses such as diabetes. Even a person’s breath can indicate diabetes or digestive disorders. Lesions on the tongue, gum bleeding, and dry mouth are more than oral issues—they can serve as early warnings for underlying health conditions.”

This quote from Dr. Arora highlights a growing truth in medicine: the mouth often speaks first when the body is in trouble. Subtle signs like gum bleeding, dry mouth, or tongue lesions aren’t just dental concerns—they’re red flags for deeper issues like nutritional gaps, immune dysfunction, or metabolic stress. When dentists pay attention, they become powerful partners in early disease detection.

For more information about the link between sleep-disordered breathing and chronic disease, listen to the More Than Teeth Podcast here or below.

Saliva: A Window Into Whole-Body Health

A 2020 review in the Journal of Oral Biosciences looked at almost 80 studies and found strong proof that saliva can help identify diseases like heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, and some cancers. Saliva has proteins, enzymes, and genetic material that show what's going on inside the body, making it a simple and non-invasive way to help diagnose and monitor health issues early.

Your next health screening could start with a simple spit test. (To find a few companies that provide saliva testing, click here and here)

View full study here

ADA’s New Era: The Mouth-Body Movement

At the ADA’s “Dentistry’s Role in Complete Health” symposium (June 13–14), the conversation shifted from cavities to chronic care. Topics included:

• In-office screenings for metabolic disease

• Oral inflammation and heart health

• Cross-referral with primary care and sleep medicine

Why Sleep Belongs in This Conversation

One foundational pillar connects oral inflammation, immune dysfunction, and chronic pain: sleep.

Disrupted sleep — often due to undiagnosed airway issues or oral inflammation — fuels systemic stress, insulin resistance, and impaired healing. Sleep apnea, especially, is intertwined with diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac risk.

If we ignore sleep, we’re missing the root of many of the problems we’re trying to manage.

Practice Implications

Screen wisely: Note oral signs like inflammation, a scalloped tongue, or xerostomia
Sleep-aware exams: Ask, “How’s your sleep working for you?”
Use saliva testing and sleep screening, especially for refractory cases of caries and periodontal disease.
Refer smartly: Share any lab work reports with PCPs, endocrinologists, cardiologists, and sleep docs as they oversee the patient’s overall health. Ask them to collaborate and watch your practice grow.
Educate and market: Let patients know your practice supports total health

Something Sweet

🍭Stuff so sweet you might get a cavity..

CE Opportunities / Events

Have an event you would like to post? (free) [ click here ]

Miscellaneous

😅P.S. … Word from Dr. Bennett & Cathy

As a husband-wife team—one dentist, one certified health coach—we’ve spent decades studying the links between the mouth, metabolism, and healing. Whether we're talking to patients in the chair or family around the dinner table, the message is the same:

So many of today’s chronic conditions—diabetes, autoimmune disorders, even anxiety—can be traced back to inflammation, disrupted sleep, and poor recovery. And often, the earliest signs show up right in the oral cavity.

We’ve seen how changing what people eat, how they sleep, and how they breathe can change everything—from mood and migraines to blood pressure and brain fog. Our hope is that every dental practice, parent, and provider joins this movement of upstream healing. Because it’s not just about avoiding disease—it’s about building strong, vibrant, deeply rested lives.

For our 10 beautiful grandchildren, and for yours, too.

— Dr. Michael & Cathy Bennett
More Than Teeth | A Mission for Generational Health