General practice and oral health

Oral health is now recognized as a crucial indicator of overall health due to its bidirectional links with systemic diseases. General practitioners (GPs), often the first healthcare contact, are ideally positioned to detect early oral issues and deliver preventive guidance. By integrating basic oral assessments into routine care, GPs can identify diseases like periodontitis or oral lesions and contribute to managing systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, or respiratory infections. Despite clear benefits, integration faces obstacles: insufficient oral health training in medical curricula, compartmentalization between disciplines, and limited interprofessional communication. Solutions lie in interdisciplinary education, curriculum updates, and local medical-dental collaboration. Furthermore, regenerative biotechnologies like PRGF, derived from a patient’s own blood, present safe and effective options for improving wound healing and systemic outcomes, especially in compromised patients. PRGF also shows potential in modulating immune responses and reducing infection risks.
Univ.Prof. Forna Norina, Univ.Prof. Agop-Forna Doriana
U.M.F. Grigore T.Popa Iasi (Romania), Dental Medicine Faculty