Imagine having a migraine headache almost every day, thinking you have a brain tumor, bouncing around from specialist to specialist, and spending thousands of dollars getting nowhere in your desperate search to find the cause of your ailment and treat your pain.
This is the story of one of Dr. Jason Campbell’s many patients. Turns out, Julia (not her real name) did not have cancer. The major problem causing her headaches was a dental issue. Through Campbell’s pioneering, collaborative approach to dentistry, the source of Julia’s problem was discovered and treated, the headaches disappeared almost instantaneously and she no longer needs pain medication.
For Campbell, dentistry goes far beyond flossing and fillings. He uses a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to solve complicated and debilitating cases, and bridge gaps in medical care. He calls on ear, nose and throat specialists, chiropractors, physical therapists, neurologists, massage therapists and others.
Campbell, who has been in general dentistry for 12 years, has developed the Advanced Prosthetic Institute, which creates the setting for a unique relationship with dental and healthcare specialists who are collaborating and keeping costs down.
“API is easy for patients and easy for those involved in care for collaboration in the treatment planning stage,” he said. “We’ve developed the Cloud-based software that helps me to communicate with others. Anyone we choose to be involved can access it. Whether you are a physician treating a problem with us, a dental specialist or a patient, you can log into the case file and see the progress. We can gather all the information up front for the patient looking for solutions. We can gather all that without the patient going out for consultations in other offices and getting lost in coordination black hole.”
API uses the latest techniques and technology to help people who are missing all or some of their teeth or who suffer from health problems affecting their oral health. Such conditions include gastric and eating disorders that cause acid erosion; Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction or TMJ that results in jaw pain; gum and teeth deterioration from radiation, chemotherapy, teeth grinding or drug abuse; pain complicated by fibromyalgia or autoimmune disorders; and genetic conditions that prevent teeth from forming normally.
Campbell says giving back what someone has lost is recreating nature and if not done correctly can cause muscle and nerve issues, joint wear and speech problems.
“You have to peel back the onion and reveal all these contributing factors to have the patient feeling normal again. If I try to do my dental treatment and not address the underlying problem, the problem will come back,” he said. “We may first have to work with a nutritionist or a gastroenterologist to bring down the acid content of the body. If there’s a thyroid issue, we may need an endocrinologist. If the patient has arthritis and inflamed joints, I can’t start my work until we calm those muscles, so we have a massage therapist in the office.”
He welcomes the more baffling cases as a challenge. Born with a genetic disorder that prevented his body from developing all 32 teeth, he understands what it’s like to suffer from the social and physical pain of a serious dental health condition. After full-mouth reconstruction at the age of 27, Campbell knows how life-changing treatment and rehabilitation can be.
“I suffered with headaches, joint disorder, food intolerances, allergies and inflammatory issues, and spent a lifetime trying to figure it out. A lot of the underlying health issues were due to dental issues. My focus has always been to help people like that.”
He recalls the case of a 12-year-old girl whom he describes as a “beautiful princess in the making.” She was born with enamel hypoplasia, which means the hard outer shell of the teeth was missing, and her teeth were malformed. “You couldn’t put braces on her because you need enamel to do that. But we were able to reconstruct her teeth and give this little girl, who wasn’t smiling, a beautiful smile.”
Campbell’s institute is designed to serve the community by working with dentists and healthcare providers in the Quad Cities area. His big-picture goal is to create a center for complex issues, where doctors can be surgically trained to work with the latest tools and technology, along with learning the skills for marketing and managing their practice.
In the meantime, he continues to focus on networking with local healthcare professionals and changing lives through medical solutions.
“When we have a patient that has looked and looked and looked for pain relief, who has struggled with dentures that don’t work or speech impediments and we give them a positive outcome, it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.” QCBN
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