R. Lamont Macneil, DDS, dean of the University of Connecticut School Of Dental Medicine, spoke with UConn Today on personalized medicine in dentistry embracing a team approach.
Dr. Lamont believes genomics to help prevent and better treat dental diseases, and the same information useful in promoting overall health, will be possible as more-cost effective ways evolve for genomic screening.
Here are four key quotes from Dr. Lamont's interview:
1. "Genomic screening of dental plaque will undoubtedly give us better information on the composition of oral biofilms and specific pathogenies therein that we might able to target with conventional therapies or perhaps even genomic-based therapies. That would be a huge breakthrough," said Dr. Lamont.
2. "Understanding if a patient is a low-, normal-, or high-inflammatory responder by use of a genetic test could open up another option for care, where we not only target the causative agent but might also modulate the response of the patient to that agent."
3. "The health professions are gradually moving to an inter-professional team approach where different types of providers (for example, physicians, dentists, nurses) will more effectively work together toward the improved overall health of the patient."
4. "Across the country, more and more effort is being devoted to inter-professional education and the creation of inter-professional care teams. Collectively, I believe all of us in the health professions – physicians, dentists, nurses, etc. – understand that we can be of greater benefit to our patients by maximizing our educational training, practicing at the upper limits of our competency range and within our scopes of practice, and communicating better with each other in the care of those we treat."
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