Welcome Readers
I’m Carinne Hawley, founder of Empowering Smiles and I’m passionate about prevention 1. My goal with this blog is to educate, inspire, and empower you to be the healthiest version of yourself and get to the root cause of anything standing in your way! 2 Whether you are a serious biohacker or simply dabble in the wellness space, a seasoned professional or student, an expectant mother or… my mother, I want everyone reading this to feel part of the conversation. I’d like this to be a space where we can ask questions, collaborate, and grow together because people are happier when they’re healthy, and when they’re happy, they’re more productive – and better parents.
Defining Health
If I were to ask you if you are healthy, how would you respond? I venture that you would say, yes. That begs the question, what is healthy? Multiple definitions of health exist, ranging from Merriam-Webster, “freedom from physical disease or pain” to the World Health Organization (WHO), “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Those definitions are great for researchers and policy makers, but perceptions about health and overall quality of life differ among people and are informed by personal standards, expectations, culture, values, and adapting and coping mechanisms. One’s threshold for sickness, discomfort, fatigue, or anything that diminishes quality of life is very particular. Can a person have a chronic disease and still describe themselves as healthy? Is it reasonable to feel a sense of general wellbeing even if you have diabetes, psoriasis, bipolar disorder, or a toothache? The answer is yes, and this phenomenon is called the disability paradox: when someone reports good quality of life despite having physical and functional limitations as a result of chronic disease.
Oral health is a contributor to general well-being because it is vital for even the most basic daily activities like eating, talking, and having a socially acceptable smile. Truth be told, most problems in the mouth are preventable, not life threatening, and are incredibly common, such as dental caries (“cavities”) and periodontal disease (gum disease). There are many government programs aimed at improving the oral health of our children and many schools in this country require that children have a dental visit prior to enrolling in public school. Look up the work of public health dentists like Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez or Dr. Roseann Mulligan and you’ll learn about the well-established link between untreated dental disease and poor school performance.
We’ve all heard the saying “it takes a village to raise a child” and that’s true of disease prevention as well. Doctors, teachers, coaches, and policy makers all play a role, but in my opinion the biggest influence on a child’s health are their parents. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re hoping to spare your child from destructive and painful dental problems and I’m so glad that you’re here! I don’t have all the answers, and I believe that it’s very important to consider your intuition when making decisions because no one understands you better than you. That being said, an informed you can make better decisions that hold up to scrutiny. More than ever before institutions that were traditionally looked to for practice guidelines and consumer advice are viewed through a more critical lens and it may be overwhelming when you hear conflicting information. That’s not altogether bad, the scientific method is based on asking questions and trying to prove our assumptions wrong because if you can’t prove yourself wrong – maybe you’re right! I’ll share with you what I know and trust you to make the right decisions for you and your family.
Put the Mouth Back in the Body
Several years ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about the link between oral health and overall health and she simplified everything I was saying with one sentence. She looked at me and said, “It’s the top of the tube [GI tract]!” She got it and I was thrilled. As you probably know, all our body systems work together and influence each other, and general health and oral health cannot be separated. Despite this there is a tendency in healthcare to compartmentalize. We see this evident in the way our healthcare system is setup, many silos and little integration coupled with the absence of a shared electronic health record. Those with insurance coverage have different plans for medical care, vision, and dental care, and different coverage levels for generalists and specialists. Our system lacks a strong culture of collaboration between physicians and dentists and cross-training in medicine and dentistry is largely dependent on where the doctor attended school and their personal interest and professional development after graduation.
Parents know that any well-child visit includes a glance in the mouth. The doctor may comment on enlarged tonsils or evaluate for strep throat, but by and large, the discussion about anything dental related doesn’t go much further. In working with pediatricians, some researchers have found that potential roadblocks to having conversations about oral health are 1) fear parents will ask them questions that they don’t know the answer to and 2) not knowing who to connect patients with if they do see a problem, likely related to a lack of understanding of different dental professionals and their roles. However, more children will see a pediatrician than a pediatric dentist, yet pediatricians often report minimal training about oral health during residency and are more likely to refer to a dentist for treatment than prevention.
More and more I see interdisciplinary collaboration and I am lucky enough to work and interact with dental and medical professionals that are forward thinking and holistic in their approach. I believe that healthcare workers, specifically doctors and dentists, fight against the constraints of time and reimbursement which is why allied health professionals and coaches are necessary to fill the gap. I love clinical practice, but I started Empowering Smiles because I want to reach a broader audience. The content you will find on this site isn’t new to your provider, but they often don’t have the time to share it with you.
Future Topics
If you are interested in the connection between the mouth and the body, keep reading. If you need help evaluating products and tools, let’s talk about it. If you want to know more about the psychology behind motivation and goals, I’m there. Should we get into nutrition and movement, why not? Lastly, if you care about consistency and not perfection, stay here! Let’s work together to foster healthy habits you can pass to your children because the future belongs to them.