Ep 213 Update on Dental Issues and Celiac Disease

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

I’m welcoming back to the podcast Dr. Melissa Ing who is a well accomplished dental educator with a specific interest in celiac disease.  Dr. Ing shares with us the information she presented in two lectures at the recent Chicago Midwinter Conference.  Her first lecture was titled “Celiac Disease, Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity and Your Dental Patients”.  The second lecture was about nutritional influences on oral and systemic wellness.  Melissa is very much into the “Mouth-Body Connection” and teaching a whole-body approach to dental professionals.  In 2020, Melissa put together articles she wrote for the CCA’s Better Living Gluten Free Publication on Oral Health.  Here is the link to that publication –

Smile! It’s the Oral Health Issue

As COVID-19 restrictions ease across Canada, many individuals will be heading back to the dentist for their regular cleanings and delayed appointments. One of the atypical signs of celiac disease is found in the mouth. We asked Melissa E. Ing, D.M.D.

This is the article Melissa suggested you might want to share with your dental professionals to help them learn more about celiac disease.

Melissa has been a guest on two episodes of A Canadian Celiac Podcast –

Episode 106  Celiac Disease and Dental Education

Episode 169  Celiac Disease and the Dental Office

These are the samples of different grains Dr. Ing uses for her “game” during her lectures.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

By the time most of us get a diagnosis of celiac disease, we’ve seen our fair share of doctors from different specialties.  When I think back to the doctors I consulted or were referred to, I certainly don’t count my dentists on that list.  After talking with Dr. Melissa Ing, I can see how a dental professional could have played a part in my eventual diagnosis.

Melissa was very kind with her time, and outside of our recording she let me pick her brain about some personal dental issues and how they related to the conditions she mentioned.  I remember once my dentist, after seeing a clear yellow line on my front teeth suggested that I most likely had a high fever when those teeth were developing or maybe when they were pushing through my gums.  I didn’t pay much attention at the time, as I was undergoing a procedure with him to remove the lines.

In hindsight (isn’t it great how hindsight works?), what he was actually trying to explain to me was that our teeth can tell the story of our health.  This is all the more important when it comes to recent research linking dental health with other conditions including alzheimer’s disease.  We’ve all been told how important flossing is, and like many of us, my flossing habit comes and goes.  Dr. Ing stressed the importance of flossing for good gum health, which is important on the list of things we can do to try to stave off alzheimer’s.

Whenever I speak with Dr. Ing, I learn something.  This time it made me realize how the teeth can tell a story, and how integral teeth and gum health is to our overall health.  I best get out the floss, this time the habit is going to stick.