There is the common misconception that osteopathy does not concern itself with dentistry. After all, dentists are the ones who have to face the job nobody else on earth is willing to undertake: luring reluctant patients into their offices and chairs. Yet what is frequently overlooked is the fact that a doctor of osteopathy (D.O.) is interested in the whole patient, not just the patient devoid of a mouth. Granted, you will not find dental instruments in the office of your osteopathic practitioner, but unlike medical doctors who abdicate any responsibility for the mouth or anything that goes on inside, the D.O. will want to know of problems and also concerns that you might have.
Do not misunderstand: even as dental health is of interest in osteopathy, your D.O. will still send you to the dentist to have you regular checkup, but some of the symptoms you are dealing with may be relieved via osteopathic care. Take for example pain that occurs when the patient is attempting to chew or swallow; although this is of interest to the dentist, it is also of interest to the D.O. on a number of levels. Conversely, when the patient reports undergoing medical treatments and as such has been diagnosed with a dry mouth, there is a lot the osteopath will do to help. To many an osteopathic professional the use of alcohol laden mouthwashes and sudsy toothpastes is a thorn in the side, and whenever possible is highly likely to counsel the patient on the use of natural alternatives which also cure dry mouth quite quickly.
This also closes the gap between the kind of care the dentist may expect the family doctor to provide and the care the primary care physician may believe it to be the duty of the dentist to render. As in the past this might have been a bit of an area of confusion and discontent, the switchover to the care of a D.O. makes it a lot more possible for the two to overlap, much to the advantage of the patient. As an aside, a D.O. may be the initial whistleblower who will remind the patient to seek out the services of a dental health care professional simply because symptoms point to a bacterial overtake that is then traced back to the oral cavity. In so doing osteopathy and dentistry are actually working together!
Another way of providing help with dental issues is the discussion of nutrition, food intake, and even the means of chewing. This might sound odd, but there are times when a patient may actually have the habit of chewing ice or cracking open pistachio nuts with the teeth which is of course very detrimental to oral health. Since the osteopath is interested in the whole body approach to health, the question about nutrition and eating habits is sure to come up sooner or later, and it is at this juncture that these habits are discovered. In so doing, the D.O. may also uncover the potential for future problems and may actually send the patient to a dentist simply to avoid any future health issues by having prophylactic care done as well as x-rays taken.
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