Georgia Dental Association

Becky Weinman, Evis Babo, and Tom Broderick talk oral health

On this week’s episode we featured president of the Georgia Dental Association and practicing Savannah orthodontist, Tom Broderick, along with members, Evis Babo and Becky Weinman, both Atlanta-based general dentists.

We discussed the mission of the Georgia Dental Association, along with various initiatives the association is working on to foster oral health for Georgians such as the Mission of Mercy. With this program, members of the association from around the state join forces to contribute their time and resources to provide free dental care to citizens who are economically-challenged but that are in need of dental care.

As our guests described, in many cases these patients are able to get smiles restored with dentures or other procedures that allow them to more successfully apply for jobs they might not have been able to before. We also talked about how the association members are engaging providers in elderly residential and care facilities to teach them how to better meet basic preventive care needs.

The panel explained the importance of each of us establishing a “dental home” where we go for regular preventive care and assessment (ideally 2x per year). The reason for this, as Becky described, is that cavities and some other problems can develop and progress a great deal in a year’s time. By identifying and treating developing problems quickly, the treatment needed to correct these issues is typically very easy and comparatively inexpensive compared to advanced measures such as crowns or extractions.

Weinman, Babo, and Broderick also shared information about the fact that dentists utilize these regular visits to assess the patient for problems such as oral cancer, diabetes, and other health problems that have signs that can be seen in the mouth. In this way, the patient gains another provider who can help catch serious developing health problems and seek treatment while there is an opportunity to reverse them or treat them more easily.

Special Guests:

Tom Broderick, DDS, President of Georgia Dental Association