EFP launches Perio & Family Doctors campaign

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 17. October 2023

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BRUSSELS, Belgium: An ongoing and open exchange between oral health providers and family physicians can effectively improve the quality of their patients’ treatment and well-being and, in certain cases, even save lives. That is why the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the European branch of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA Europe) have launched the Perio & Family Doctors campaign, featuring informative materials for oral health professionals, medical practitioners and the general public.

In 2022, 18 experts from the EFP and from WONCA Europe examined the role of family physicians and of the oral health team and formulated a series of recommendations for both groups of clinicians. Their conclusions were published in a scientific consensus report earlier this year.

“This groundbreaking campaign marks a giant leap forward in enlightening family doctors, periodontists, and other oral health providers about the potential for closer collaboration. Together, we can proactively tackle and manage prevalent systemic health conditions that impact patients worldwide, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, smoking, and hyperlipidaemia,” explained EFP President Dr Darko Božić. “Our campaign is also addressed to the general public, as patients should be aware of the advantages and benefits of good oral health,” added Dr Božić.

“In light of our recent findings, it is imperative to recognise that periodontitis transcends its localised origins in the oropharynx,” emphasised Prof. Shlomo Vinker, president of WONCA Europe. “Instead, it emerges as a condition intimately intertwined with broader systemic disease states. To address this paradigm shift, the collaboration between dentists and family doctors becomes paramount. Together, we must institute proactive strategies for the early identification of periodontitis within primary care centres and, conversely, of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes within dental settings.”

The Perio & Family Doctors campaign materials include infographics and other digital resources. “Our aim with these materials is to make visual and intuitive the core messages of the consensus report, which thoroughly examined the latest scientific evidence available supporting that periodontal disease, in particular periodontitis or chronic inflammation of the gums, is independently associated with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnoea, and COVID-19 complications,” explained Prof. Anton Sculean, chair of the EFP’s European Projects Committee.

The campaign materials are available on the EFP website at efp.org/periofamilydoctors.

The consensus report, titled “Association between periodontal diseases and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and respiratory diseases: Consensus report of the Joint Workshop by the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the European arm of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA Europe)”, was published in the June 2023 issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology.