Ep 68 Dental Issues & Celiac Disease
Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:
May is Celiac Awareness Month and I am pleased to be collaborating with the Canadian Celiac Association to produce podcasts to support their theme of “Beyond the Gut”, a look at the less common symptoms leading to a diagnosis of celiac disease. This week I speak with Dr. David Stevenson, President of the Ontario Dental Association.
We discuss some abnormal dental issues that may be a direct cause of undetected celiac disease. We also chat about how a diagnosis can change the way your dental professional structures your care. Surprisingly, we also highlight the importance of sharing a full medical history with your dentist, even though you don’t think it has anything to do with your teeth.
The CCA has an informative document on the link between dental health and screening for celiac disease. You can find that at https://www.celiac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CD_Dental.pdf
Sue’s Websites and Social Media –
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(search Sues Gluten Free Baking)
Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com
Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com
My Thoughts –
How often are we stopped in our tracks when we arrive for an initial appointment at a new health care provider with a multi-page form asking for our medical history? Filling out these forms is often tedious without much justification. Or so I thought.
My conversation with Dr. Stevenson reminded me that our health care professionals, be they doctors, physiotherapists, optometrists, chiropractors, dentists, or anyone else we visit to help us get better and stay better, work with pieces in a puzzle. A major piece, our health history is an important tool they can use to help put the puzzle together.
This works better in retrospect than it does in the present. I had two miscarriages before learning I had celiac disease. Should this have shown up as a red flag? Not on its own, but coupled with continuing digestive issues, low iron and a low immune system, yes, it would have helped in a diagnosis. I didn’t think to tell my OBGYN that I had stomach issues and was getting every cold and flu all the time. It was up to me to provide that information, and without it, my diagnosis came years after my miscarriages.
It’s easy to blame our health care system for long delays in the diagnosis of celiac disease. It’s a tough nut to crack, but some of the responsibility is ours. Have you ever discussed your digestive issues with your dentist? Me neither. Would it have helped me get diagnosed earlier? There’s no way to tell, but it couldn’t have hurt.
Next time I’m asked to fill in a health history form, I’ll use more care, think more about my answers and make a better attempt to provide my piece of the puzzle. That’s the first step towards me helping me feel better, and I’m the only one who can provide it.