The traditional boundaries of "the mouth" and the rest of the body have led non-dental health care allies too often to overlook the mouth in developing diagnoses and have narrowed many dentists' focus to only the mouth in assessing patient needs.

Harms from overlooking dental/systemic links-more properly called stomatognathic/systemic links, contribute to ineffective care, morbidity, and increased costs for health care.

The MDA has qualified speakers consisting primarily of specialist members who present slide-based seminars to health care organizations such as hospitals, clinics, etc. 

For more information on BOCA or to schedule a speaker, call MDA member dentist, Dr. Ed Kendrick at 816-231-3333.

For more information about diabetes, visit 

• Missouri Diabetes Prevention & Control Program  
• St. Louis Association of Diabetes Educators