Lustig - Tooth Decay and Liver Decay: The Nexus of Physicians and Dentists
Lustig - Tooth Decay and Liver Decay: The Nexus of Physicians and Dentists is organized by California Society of Pediatric Dentistry (CSPD). This Course has been approved for a maximum of 3 CEUs.
Level of skill recommended for participants:
Of interest to Dentists, Students & Residents, Dental Auxiliaries, families and Dental Office Staff.
Description:
“Mountain Dew Mouth” has been a scourge for dentists for decades. But there is a new disease that is affecting even more people: Mountain Dew Liver. Even though non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) wasn’t discovered until 1980, up to 1/3 of Americans suffer from it including children: 13% of autopsies in children and 38% of obese children show NAFLD.
The rates of tooth decay and NAFLD have been increasing with excessive sugar consumption contributing to both.
Dietary sugar is composed of one molecule each of glucose and fructose with fracture being the primary driver of both diseases. While fructose doesn’t contribute to the mouth biofilm, it is metabolized by the oral bacteria into lactic acid which readily diffuses through the biofilm and into the tooth. Fructose is then turned into fat in the liver mitochondria which drives NAFLD which has now surpassed alcohol as the leading cause of liver transplantation. Children are the most susceptible to both diseases because they are the biggest sugar consumers.
Physicians and dentist must be united in supporting public health measures to reduce chronic disease which includes diet modification.
Educational Objectives:
• Describe why sugar not only destroys teeth but also causes liver disease
• Explain how the sugar molecules are metabolized to in the liver
• Learn why physicians and dentists need to work together to reduce prevalence of these chronic diseases
