This feature was written by Studio MSP writers. While some of our advertisers were sourced, no advertiser paid to be included.
A man in his 60s was referred to Dr. Drew Carrell for implants, and eventually the dentist started seeing him and his wife for regular care at Lakeview Family Dentistry in Hugo. When Carrell learned that the man had had a couple strokes, he asked a seemingly unusual dental question: Had he ever been assessed for sleep apnea?
Carrell has a nose for detecting patients with sleep apnea based on a few indicators: high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. When he sees people on medications for these conditions, it often prompts him to inquire whether they have been assessed for sleep apnea. A serious disorder, sleep apnea affects 30 million people in the United States, but only 20 percent are diagnosed, according to the American Medical Association.
The man hadn’t been tested, so Carrell recommended a sleep study. The man’s sleep apnea was so severe—causing him to completely stop breathing every minute—that the study was halted. The physician prescribed a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for treatment. The next time Carrell saw the couple, “the wife came up and gave me a hug and was in tears. She told me that he’s a different person now. He’s well rested and not crabby anymore,” Carrell says. “It’s my favorite patient story.”
And it’s not an uncommon one. Dentists have an underrated skill when it comes to keeping people healthy. Not only do they help patients maintain excellent oral health, but they also bring expertise in discovering health problems or warning signs that a physician or dental specialist should check out. That’s because many conditions reveal themselves through symptoms occurring in the teeth, gums, soft tissues, jaw, and airway.
As luck would have it, dentists thoroughly examine these parts of the body every time people go to their office, equipped with an array of diagnostic tools. All told, this makes dental professionals first responders for numerous medical issues. “A lot of times, people will come to us who might not have seen a doctor recently,” says Dr. Nancy Norling, who practices in St. Louis Park. “Many diseases in your mouth can really be linked to other diseases in your body. We can be the first line of defense to identify them and get patients to see the specialists they need to see.”
As researchers continue to find links between oral health and overall health, dental and medical professionals are breaking down silos between their practices in a joint effort to keep their patients healthy, says Dr. Christopher Steele, chief clinical officer at Park Dental Partners. He expects the two professions will continue their momentum of working more closely together.
Carrell agrees: “Dentistry has evolved into the whole-body approach—a more comprehensive approach—where we’re starting at the outside and looking in. Taking care of your teeth is just on piece of the overall puzzle.”
Here’s how dentists support your overall health, starting with your mouth.
“Dentistry has evolved into the whole-body approach…where we’re starting at the outside and looking in. Taking care of your teeth is just one piece of the overall puzzle.” —Dr. Drew Carrell / Lakeview Family Dentistry
Screen It Up
Diagnostic screenings like X-rays, intraoral images, and 3D scans are a critical way that dentists spot problems. Along with finding cavities or cracked teeth, they help dentists discover underlying issues that might not be causing symptoms. Dr. Tom Morgan of Morgan Family Dental in Prior Lake has identified many conditions early thanks to these screenings.
Sometimes Morgan sees an unusual lump or bump like a cyst, and he will refer patients to an oral surgeon for a follow-up exam. That way it can be removed before causing damage to the teeth, tissues, or jaw. Diagnostic tools also help dentists identify symptomless problems like an abscessed tooth, impacted wisdom teeth, or a jaw abnormality that turns out to be bone cancer. “This technology can catch things when they are in their earliest stages, giving people the best chance for a successful outcome,” Morgan says.
Dental scans also find concerns that might have nothing to do with oral health. It’s not unusual for a patient to come in with a toothache, but diagnostics reveal a sinus infection or chronic sinusitis. Osteoporosis is another condition dentists can detect with imaging, Steele says. A loss of bone density that can affect people 50 and older, osteoporosis often shows itself on X-rays, leading dentists to refer patients for bone density scans.
Did You Know?
Blood-borne cancers like leukemia and multiple myeloma can present with symptoms in the mouth. Dentists are sometimes the first to spot signs of disease.
Stamping out Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea occurs when people repeatedly stop and start breathing throughout the night. Many are unaware that they have sleep apnea, but dentists have a keen eye for discovering the condition. It’s vital to get treatment because sleep apnea is related to all manner of health problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. Many people with sleep apnea experience headaches, brain fog, and other cognitive issues.
As part of a standard oral exam, dentists will look at patients’ tongues, tonsils, airways, and other soft tissues in the mouth for signs of airway disorders like snoring and sleep apnea, says Dr. Amy Hughes of Hughes Dental in Deephaven. Sleep apnea can sometimes develop as the soft palate sags with age, causing the tongue to fall back and eventually block the airway. Obesity is another factor that can lead to the development of different types of sleep disorders.
Other sleep apnea evidence includes inflammation, signs that someone is clenching and grinding their teeth, and erosion of tooth enamel from acid reflux, Carrell says. He also pays close attention to indentations or scalloping on the sides of the tongue, which can come from sleep episodes.
Finally, sleep apnea is more prevalent in people who had teeth removed as children to make room in crowded mouths—a practice that isn’t recommended anymore.
For people with mild cases, dentists usually to start with an oral appliance that helps the airway stay open. If that doesn’t work or for those with more severe sleep apnea, a CPAP will help people breathe normally while sleeping.
In addition, Hughes has been seeing good results recently with laser technology. To prevent the airway from being blocked, laser treatments can shrink sagging soft tissue, reduce fat in the tongue, and also rejuvenate collagen in the mouth.
“Many diseases in your mouth can really be linked to other diseases in your body. We can be the first line of defense to identify them and get patients to see the specialists they need to see.” —Dr. Nancy Norling / Nancy Norling DDS
Blood Pressure Points
It’s increasingly common for dental professionals to monitor patients’ blood pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a huge concern in the United States, called a silent killer because many people don’t have symptoms. Yet nearly half of adults have hypertension, and more than half of those adults have uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Understanding that many people don’t see their doctor as regularly as the dentist prompts many dental offices to routinely assess patients’ blood pressure. Some dentists will take a blood pressure reading before procedures that involve anesthesia, Steele says, while others make it part of every visit.
Norling routinely takes patients’ blood pressure and vividly remembers one patient who had a very high reading. She sent him to the doctor to get checked out before she would do any dental work. Two days later, he had bypass surgery. “It makes you realize how important some of the things we do are,” she says. “He and his wife didn’t know he had high blood pressure. She was very thankful.”
The Gum Disease Link
Dentists pay a lot of attention to gum health because it plays such a big role in oral and overall health. Gum disease takes root most often from dental plaque, a buildup of bacteria in the mouth that causes inflammation, Morgan says. Left untreated, it can cause bad breath, bleeding, soreness, tooth loss, and gum recession, when gums pull away from teeth. Not smoking and visiting the dentist regularly for cleanings are essential ways to keep gum disease at bay.
There are other key reasons to emphasize preventing gum disease. There are known links between gum disease and many health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, pregnancy complications, and low-birth-weight babies. How does this happen? “There is a mouth-body connection,” Carrell says. “There are bacteria and other things harboring in the mouth that have a direct entry to the bloodstream. There are a lot of systemic issues that are tied to gum disease.”
Minding your Medications
Ever wonder why your dentist asks what medications you are on? They aren’t just being nosy. Some medications dry out people’s mouths, which make them prone to developing cavities, Norling says. Major culprits include decongestants, antihistamines, painkillers, and antidepressants.
It’s important to take action against dry mouths because saliva helps wash away food particles and bacteria. When people have less saliva, they often have higher incidents of cavities, inflammation, and gum disease. Dentists can prescribe oral sprays, mouthwashes, and rinses and suggest talking with your doctor about alternative medications that don’t dry up saliva, Norling says.
Catch that Cancer
Seeing a dentist can help people prevent cancer—or detect it early. A routine part of dental visits is oral cancer screenings, where dentists check for changes in the tissues of the mouth. Oral cancer typically appears as a sore, bump, lesion, or patchy area on the gums, cheeks, roof of the mouth, tonsils, lips, or tongue. It’s imperative to catch the disease early because oral cancer is usually fast-moving and aggressive, Carrell says.
On top of oral cancer, dentists are able to identify signs of other cancers. Certain blood-borne cancers like leukemia can present with a symptom called petechiae, or small red spots on the skin and mouth. Steele once saw a patient with the telltale pinprick spots, which indicate bleeding under the skin. He recommended that she see her physician. The woman was diagnosed with leukemia and was able to receive treatment.
Similarly, Norling saw lesions that looked like soap bubbles on a patient’s panoramic X-ray and referred her to a physician for testing. She was then diagnosed with multiple myeloma, another blood cancer. The patient had no idea anything was wrong, other than not having as much energy as usual.
Did You Know?
Osteoporosis often shows itself on X-rays, leading dentists to refer patients for bone density scans.
Diabetes Detection
Diabetes is no friend to oral health. Whether it’s undiagnosed or uncontrolled, diabetes is something dentists are vigilant about, Steele says. The disease triggers significant inflammation, which can lead to a breakdown in collagen and tissue, bleeding gums, and gum disease. It also puts people at high risk of infection. If a patient has these symptoms and hasn’t been diagnosed with diabetes, Steele will encourage them to see the doctor for screening.
For people who are already diagnosed, dentists often encourage more frequent cleanings—say three to four times a year instead of two, Morgan says. That manages inflammation, prevents pockets from forming around the teeth that harbor bacteria, and keeps as much bacteria as possible out of the bloodstream.
Finding Eating Disorders
Many patients won’t mention it, but dentists often can tell if someone is struggling with an eating disorder like bulimia. It’s apparent that people are frequently vomiting because that wears away tooth enamel, Norling says. Other common signs are when someone has dry mouth, mouth sores, sensitive teeth, tooth decay, and bruising in the mouth.
When Norling notices these symptoms, she will often take intraoral images to show patients the damage and encourage them to see their doctor or seek other help.
Avoiding Arthritis
A routine part of a dental visit is getting checked for disorders of the temporomandibular joints, the hinges that connect the jawbone to the skull. Other times, people report facial pain, headaches, or soreness while chewing. That sends dentists on the search for a cause they can address before it gets deeply rooted. TMJ pain can come from clenching teeth, chewing gum or other tough foods, or arthritis, Morgan says.
Early diagnosis is key to preventing complications and other oral health problems like grinding teeth. Medication, treatments like cortisone or Botox injections, physical therapy, and mouth guards all can help. Morgan also recommends avoiding gum, bagels, or other foods that are difficult to chew.
Preventable Problems
It makes sense that oral health is strongly connected to your overall health. After all, your mouth serves as the portal to the rest of your body. The actions you take to safeguard your health also do double duty by keeping your mouth in good shape, and vice versa. Consider adding these steps to your health regimen:
Beyond Brushing
In addition to regular brushing and flossing, many dentists now recommend that patients use thicker floss and a daily water flosser, says Dr. Amy Hughes of Hughes Dental in Deephaven. This will remove the stubborn plaque and food particles between teeth and along the gums. Combined, these attract bacteria that cause gum disease and lead to other problems like heart disease and diabetes. Adding an antibacterial mouthwash is another smart move to prevent plaque buildup.
Diet Don’ts
When it comes to diet, carbohydrate-rich foods and acidic drinks like pop and sports drinks are not friends of oral health. Dr. Drew Carrell of Lakeview Family Dentistry in Hugo advises limiting simple and complex carbohydrates, which break down into sugar in the mouth. Acidic drinks—with high doses of sugar and carbonation—can cause tooth enamel to erode.
Wet Your Whistle
Having a dry mouth should be avoided at all costs. Whether it’s from not drinking enough water or medications that dry up saliva, a non-moist mouth makes it harder to wash away bacteria and prevent gum disease and tooth decay. “More hydration in the mouth leads to better oral tissues and better digestion,” says Dr. Christopher Steele, chief clinical director at Park Dental Partners.
Big No-Nos
Smoking and drinking alcohol are two big culprits when it comes to oral cancer, says Dr. Nancy Norling. Smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products plays a big role in tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth loss. Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to dry mouth and change its natural pH balance, which can eventually erode tooth enamel and cause gum disease. Quitting smoking and pairing a glass of water with alcoholic drinks can minimize these effects.
A Good Sleeper
Pay close attention to sleep hygiene, which plays a major role in overall health. High blood pressure, dementia, diabetes, and acid reflux are all common conditions associated with undiagnosed sleep apnea, Carrell says. Many undiagnosed people will clench and grind their teeth, causing damage that can be prevented with an oral appliance for mild cases or a CPAP machine for more severe sleep apnea.
This article originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.
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