Oral Health & Dementia: How Dentists Can Help Prevent Alzheimer's | Anne O. Rice, RDH

Up to 45% of dementia cases are tied to risk factors we can change, and oral health is one of them. Anne O. Rice, RDH, has spent the years since her mother's dementia diagnosis studying how the mouth affects the brain. She explains how gum disease bacteria reach the brain, why dementia is a women's health issue, the tests to ask your doctor for, and simple things every dental office can do, from AFib recalls to cold sore prescriptions.

In this episode:
- Why two-thirds of Alzheimer's cases, and most caregivers, are women
- How P. gingivalis and other gum disease bacteria reach the brain
- Airway, sleep, blood sugar and blood pressure: the risk factors dentists can spot
- Why high blood pressure between 35 and 50 doubles Alzheimer's risk
- Tests to ask for beyond LDL and HDL
- Free tools: 10-minute brain health modules and the Retain Your Brain app
- Forgetfulness isn't a normal part of aging
- How to send referral notes doctors actually read
- AFib patients, glucose checks before implants, and antivirals for cold sores
- Functional medicine and the gut
- Prevention without blame

📰 Plus dental news: the death of Australian dentist Dr. Steven Lin, the coming wave of "Turkey teeth" patients, Florida's dental therapy bill defeated, and California's insurance transparency bills and licensure for foreign-trained dentists.

Anne O. Rice, RDH, has been a clinical dental hygienist for 35 years and is a speaker, writer and consultant. She founded Oral Systemic Seminars in 2017 and focuses on dementia prevention. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner, a longevity specialist with the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, a fellow and advisory board member of the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health, an RDH magazine columnist, and faculty at the Institute for Functional Dentistry. Her 2021 Frontiers paper on Alzheimer's disease and oral systemic health won Sunstar's Award of Distinction for research.

General information, not medical advice. Talk to your own doctor and dentist about your care.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Welcome: Jeff is an Anne fan
2:13 JB's new office setup
3:30 Chad's new mentee and his golf coach
5:48 Why everyone needs a coach or mentor
7:37 Mental health and suicide in dentistry
8:32 Milking a parotid, and a Polygrip prescription
10:34 Deprogramming a bite
11:06 Six broken occlusal guards
12:32 News
12:44 News: Dr. Steven Lin
14:54 News: the coming wave of "Turkey teeth"
16:36 News: Florida's dental therapy bill defeated
17:38 News: California insurance transparency and foreign-trained dentists
19:51 Meet Anne O. Rice
25:16 Why dementia is a women's health issue
26:40 The many kinds of dementia
27:12 Why she started in 2017
28:26 Her 2021 Frontiers paper
29:28 Airway, sleep and the brain
30:00 Gum disease, diabetes and blood sugar spikes
31:18 Dr. Ed Zuckerberg and P. gingivalis
32:29 Is oral health a cause or a contributor?
33:52 The science has moved on since school
35:52 How gum disease bacteria reach the brain
37:07 Pathogen tests that point to airway
37:56 Tests for a patient who wants to prevent dementia
40:20 Midlife blood pressure doubles the risk
41:43 Cholesterol: ask for more than LDL and HDL
42:42 Free brain health modules
43:23 The Retain Your Brain app
44:55 Finding a preventive neurologist
45:45 Forgetfulness isn't a normal part of aging
47:07 How dentists can work with medical teams
48:28 Referral notes doctors actually read
49:15 A glucose check before implants
49:58 Check pathogens like you check endo
50:28 AFib patients and 3-month recalls
51:14 Cold sores and antivirals
52:02 Functional medicine and the gut
55:22 How much dementia risk can we change?
56:33 Prevention without blame
58:38 Her mother's story
1:01:08 How to reach Anne
1:02:30 Closing: physicians of the oral cavity

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