The Center for Oral and System Health (COSH) at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute recently hosted the 2017 Oral-Systemic Health Conference at the Kalahari Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, WI, on June 1st – 2nd. The theme of the conference was “The Importance of Integrating Medical and Dental Care for Patients with Diabetes.”
Over 100 healthcare professionals including medical and dental providers, scientists, and executive leaders throughout Wisconsin and surrounding states came together to network and learn more about this important topic. This conference featured two keynote speakers, Dr. Jerry Brown and Dr. George Taylor, along with many other excellent providers and professionals. Strong attendance and positive feedback from attendees attested to the high clinical relevance of this topic and excellence of the program and presenters.
The conference had three main objectives:
- Discuss the importance of oral health among diabetic patients and the dental providers’ key role in screening for dysglycemia
- Discuss Wisconsin statewide pilot efforts geared towards integrating oral health management of patients with diabetes between medical and dental providers
- Discuss the potential cost savings and the economics of medical-dental care integration
Dr. Amit Acharya and the COSH team were thankful for the important research grant support from Delta Dental of Wisconsin which made the conference and the COSH research presented at the conference possible.