Cavities and cholesterol.

• Author: Johnson, Tahra
• Position: TRENDS

Don't be surprised if the next time you go to your dentist for a routine cleaning you also are screened for high blood pressure or diabetes. Screening for common chronic diseases while visiting the dentist is a growing practice to improve care, reduce hospitalizations and save money. When the health care provider is paid by the state, this could mean significant savings. Medicaid enrollees with diabetes, for example, cost states more than double those without the disease.

Every year, nearly 20 million Americans visit a dentist but not their doctor, according to a 2014 study in the American Journal of Public Health. Considering that about half of all adults have one or more chronic health condition, the study estimated that "medical screenings for diabetes, hypertension and [high cholesterol] in dental offices could save the health care system between $42.4 million and $102.6 million a year."

Dental schools at universities in Iowa, Maryland and New York are training students to screen for high blood pressure, tobacco use and diabetes. The University of Iowa also added blood pressure and tobacco screening to the electronic health record system that dentists fill out during patients' visits...