I recently attended a most interesting and informative medical meeting. It was like going into the future of medicine and seeing what the best doctors will be doing in the next 20 years.
The course was given buy the American Academy of Anti Aging Medicine and was on the subject of Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement. One might ask why a dentist is going to an advanced medical course on hormone replacement. As you may be aware, most of my practice deals with pain, muscle malfunction, arthritis and sleep disorders. Many, if not most, of these problems can either be caused or made worse by hormone imbalance, or can lead to that imbalance.
There was an overwhelming amount of information which will take months to review, but I did come back with some pearls that explain how to handle not only some of my most challenging cases, but how to achieve my goal of finding the deep underlying cause of my patient’s symptoms. The ideal plan is to permanently resolve the malady and possibly avoid having the symptoms return or show up somewhere else in the body.
In my article last fall I pointed out that inflammation has been found to be the world’s number one cause of death. Chronic inflammation can alter the chemistry of the part of the body with which it is associated. For example, a chronic bladder infection can potentially lead to bladder cancer by reducing the oxygen in that area. Cancer thrives on anoxia. (Previous articles that I have written can be accessed on aliveeastbay.com.)
Chronic pain, caused by inflammation, can stress the adrenal glands. Many of you know the multiple effects of imbalanced cortisol and adrenaline, not to mention the many other hormones these glands produce. These glands can not only be compromised by chronic inflammation, but can also be negatively affected by the emotional problems associated with that pain and fatigue. The hormone imbalances that result then potentially influence the neurotransmitters in the brain. As you can see it really gets complex, challenging even the famous Dr. House of the television series.
It becomes very clear that giving a prescription for pain or tension may make the patient happy today, only to suffer more tomorrow. My hope is that medicine in the future will not only correct the cause of the symptom, but address the side effects that came about as a result of endocrine and/or neurological disturbances created by the trauma or disease.
In my practice, learning more about hormones allows me to be aware of the need to refer to other practitioners in order to help expedite the healing process through the stimulation the body’s own defenses. It becomes quite clear that merely attempting to handle a TMJ or fatigue problem by the traditional dental procedures, without attempting to make a complete diagnosis of the condition, could actually exacerbate the true cause and worsen the symptoms.
Let’s take a look at three very well known hormones; Estrogen, Progesterone and Cortisol. Imbalances in any of these can cause mood swings, anger, stress, headaches, muscle cramps, clenching and grinding of the teeth and more. My new patient, initial medical/dental history has many questions that do not relate to dentistry and regular medical problems. In the course on hormones a lot of time was taken teaching us about little signs and symptoms that are unique to these imbalances and how to recognize them.
When signs of these imbalances are found I let my patients know I can help a little and many times a lot, but I may need help from other professionals. The need for a patient to change their diet and/or lifestyle may become of extreme importance in these cases.
No longer should practitioners in any field of medicine or dentistry limit what they notice to merely that field. As professionals we have an obligation to attempt to be aware of signs and symptoms that are being revealed as we treat a patient. That patient’s body may be crying out for help in the form of a symptom such as pain or inflammation. We ought to listen the body crying out, rather than saying, “shut up and take this.” Listen! Then work on a diagnosis or refer to someone who can.
The other day I had a patient tell me that she was actually thankful that she had developed TMJ issues. Without having found my practice because of her TMJ dysfunction she wouldn’t feel so well overall. She said that my commitment to her treatment has changed her life. The gratification coming from this compliment is priceless to me.
It is possible to enjoy life again.
For more information about my center, please visit www.aodtc.com.
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