[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-205995-105":59,"doc-detail-205995-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","oral-health-services-in-your-office","Oral Health Services in Your Office","","Oral health problems can affect the entire patient and reflect broader systemic risks, including pediatric dental caries linked to pain and nutrition problems, and adult periodontitis associated with poor diabetes control and vascular, arthritis, obesity, and pregnancy-related outcomes. The article outlines evidence-based roles for primary care clinicians, including adding fluoride varnish and oral exams to well-child visits, discussing oral health with parents early, and building supportive documentation, referral, and office workflows.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/oral-health-services-in-your-office/205995/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/oral-health-services-in-your-office/205995.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Theodore","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-21","2026-09-05",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",17,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How are oral health problems connected to systemic health?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Poor oral health correlates with worse systemic health. Childhood dental caries can lead to pain and nutritional problems, while adult periodontitis is linked to conditions such as poor diabetes control and vascular disease.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What oral health interventions are recommended for children in primary care?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Primary care providers are encouraged to discuss oral health starting around when primary teeth erupt, include risk history and oral exams, provide hygiene and diet advice, assess the need for systemic fluoride, and apply fluoride varnish to primary teeth.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What steps help practices implement oral health services efficiently?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Implementation starts with engaging the entire staff, verifying payer coverage, using a caries risk assessment tool during intake, performing an oral exam during visits, providing diet and hygiene counseling, and adding oral-health information to documentation and patient materials.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},205995,1788587275,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":19,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":52},7971461740886,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","CME  \nHUGH SILK, MD, MPH, AND MARK DEUTCHMAN, MD  \nHealth problems of the mouth can affect the whole patient, making primary care physicians a natural ally.  \nOFFERING  \nOral Health Services  \nIN YOUR OFFICE  \nE  \nvidence that poor oral health is connected to poor systemic health has grown over the last decade. Children with dental caries often face pain and nutritional problems, and caries  \nbuild the foundation for adult dental disease. In adults, periodontitis, or deep inflammation of the gingiva, is strongly linked to poor diabetes control and is associated with vascular disease, arthritis, obesity, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. These connections underscore the value of addressing this major area of patient care in primary care practices.  \nOffering these services might be not only effective preventive care but also remunerative depending on the makeup of a physician’s pediatric population. Although payer policies limit physicians’ ability to be reimbursed for oral health services, four-fifths of state Medicaid programs reimburse for child oral health care.  \nThe Institute of Medicine has defined roles for family physicians and other non-dental health care professionals in two reports on advancing oral health care.1,2 Also, Healthy People 2020 made oral health one of its top nine health indicators. While bold in mission, none of these documents provide detailed guidelines for medical clinicians, so this article will try to help prepare physicians to incorporate oral health services in their practices.  \nThe family doctor and early childhood caries  \nTreating children and early childhood caries from birth through age 5 has generated the most evidence of benefi-  \ncial intervention. Recently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended (level “B” – “moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial”) that primary care providers apply fluoride varnish to the primary teeth of children.3  \nMany family doctors have been addressing the oral health of children for years. Researchers have shown that primary care doctors can apply fluoride varnish and examine the mouth accurately to identify caries.4 Moreover, they can do this work efficiently in their offices, enjoy tackling this problem, and find that the efforts result in fewer cavities.5,6  \nThe American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that primary care physicians should discuss oral health with parents starting when children are 6 months of age, which coincides with when primary teeth erupt. Such visits should include a risk history for caries, an oral exam, dental hygiene and diet advice, an assessment of the need for systemic fluoride, and a referral to a dentist with the first dental visit before the child’s first birthday. Family physicians can start this discussion even earlier with women of childbearing age, as maternal oral health is a strong predictor ofa child’s oral health. Dietary patterns, oral hygiene practices, and oral flora that cause tooth decay are all passed along from the primary caregiver to the child.  \nGetting started  \nIn order to make providing oral health services easier and less time-consuming, we have involved the entire staff in  \nAbout the Authors  \nDr. Silk is a family physician at Reliant Medical Center in Worchester, Mass., and clinical associate professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Deutchman is a family physician at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., professor of family medicine in the School of Medicine, and professor in the School of Dental Medicine. Author disclosures: no relevant financial affiliations disclosed.  \nDownloaded from the Family Practice Management Web site [at www.aafp.org/fpm. Copyright](at www.aafp.org/fpm. Copyright) © 2014 American Academy of Family Physicians . For the private, noncommercial use of one individual user of the Web site. All other rights reserved. Contact [copyrights@","cbCaie5cPju90075","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaie5cPju90075","pdf",80006,"English","# Offering Oral Health Services in Your Office\n## Evidence Linking Oral and Systemic Health\n## Treating Children and Early Childhood Caries\n## Getting Started in Primary Care Practices","[{\"question\":\"How are oral health problems connected to systemic health?\",\"answer\":\"Poor oral health correlates with worse systemic health. Childhood dental caries can lead to pain and nutritional problems, while adult periodontitis is linked to conditions such as poor diabetes control and vascular disease.\"},{\"question\":\"What oral health interventions are recommended for children in primary care?\",\"answer\":\"Primary care providers are encouraged to discuss oral health starting around when primary teeth erupt, include risk history and oral exams, provide hygiene and diet advice, assess the need for systemic fluoride, and apply fluoride varnish to primary teeth.\"},{\"question\":\"What steps help practices implement oral health services efficiently?\",\"answer\":\"Implementation starts with engaging the entire staff, verifying payer coverage, using a caries risk assessment tool during intake, performing an oral exam during visits, providing diet and hygiene counseling, and adding oral-health information to documentation and patient materials.\"}]","Oral Health Services in Your Office | PDF"]