Porphyromonas Gingivalis
Research shows that aggressive treatment of porphyromonas gingivalis (PG) could prevent heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer's Disease. During a private speaking engagement, Dr. Edward Zuckerberg can share how you can use these findings to elevate your practice—and the entire dentistry field.
The Far Reach of PG And the Fight to Stop It
Research has shown PG to be the primary contributing agent in chronic gum disease, but recent discoveries show it also has a significant impact on overall health. Dr. Zuckerberg is the Chief Dental Officer of Keystone Bio, a biotech company that has conducted extensive research on the effects of PG beyond the oral cavity. In 2021, Keystone Bio released data from a study that found toxic proteins produced by PG in the brain tissue of Alzheimer’s Disease patients, showing that these proteins are the major driver of non-congenital AD as well as chronic inflammation.
The fact that these proteins can cross the blood–brain barrier and affect the functional tissue of the brain has led Keystone to look further into the possibility of preventing AD—and other organ system diseases associated with chronic inflammation such as stroke, diabetes, and cancer—by targeting PG. This has led to the development of KB-001, a monoclonal antibody that can eliminate both PG and the toxic proteins it secretes. KB-001 has completed phase one clinical trials, and Keystone Bio is developing new diagnostics in addition to a PG vaccine. Until these developments gain the necessary approval, awareness is our most powerful weapon in the fight against PG.
“Dentists can be the deliverers of care that can essentially have the greatest effect on the general health of mankind, better than any medical practitioner.”
Dr. Edward Zuckerberg
Elevating the Dentist’s Standing Through PG Awareness
These findings regarding PG not only provide hope for more effective means of treating very serious diseases, but also point to dentists as healthcare professionals who should be considered primary care practitioners.
A Vision of the Future
While visiting Harvard to give a lecture at the school’s new Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Zuckerberg and the school’s leadership discussed where they would like to see dentistry in 10 years. “My vision is that there would be a medical facility where the primary care physician would still be the initial triage person. But before we treat them through the traditional medical approach, the first step has to be to send them to the oral health specialist.”
Realizing the Vision
Dr. Zuckerberg explains that the most significant obstacle in realizing this vision is a lack of knowledge among doctors outside of dentistry regarding the mouth–body connection. Dr. Zuckerberg believes a deeper understanding of the significance of oral health needs to be much more widely implemented in general healthcare.
Taking Action Now
Changing an entire field’s approach and perception won’t happen overnight. Achieving better awareness among patients may be more quickly attainable by refocusing the way you market your practice. Dr. Zuckerberg has mentored dental professionals around the world in using social media to grow their practices. Using this tool to inform patients of the dangers of PG can benefit both your practice and the patients you want to reach.
Get Equipped to Spread the Word About Your Role in the Fight Against PG
In light of discoveries about the correlations between PG and the many inflammatory diseases that continue to take an irreparable toll on people all over the world, it's time for dentists to take the lead in changing the approach to treatment. Dr. Zuckerberg can give your practice the insight and knowledge to leverage the world's fastest-growing media against PG.
Using social media is simple. Learning how to use it as an effective means of communicating the dangers of PG—and your practice's capacity to prevent it from causing significant harm—takes expertise. During a private speaking engagement, Dr. Zuckerberg can give your practice the skills to not only educate the public, but also attract a larger patient base that is more committed to routine care. To start the discussion with Dr. Zuckerberg, you can write to us or call:
Why Patients Need Enlightenment
Dr. Zuckerberg's career in dentistry spans over 40 years. He maintains a part-time practice in Palo Alto, CA, to this day, and continues to see overwhelming evidence of a need to make the correlation between PG and health issues beyond the oral cavity better understood.
“I've seen young patients die of heart attacks," says Dr. Zuckerberg. "People with fulminating periodontal disease that either refused treatment or didn't come back for care. A patient dying at 45 of heart disease—that's not normal. We couldn't put the finger on the pathway, but we knew there was dental and gum disease.”
In another case, a pregnant patient of Dr. Zuckerberg was diagnosed with an oral abscess and four bad molars. Her OBGYN blessed the treatment, but she wanted to delay it, choosing instead to get through the initial crisis with antibiotics. At eight months, the patient miscarried. “I don't know what happened, but raging bacteria in the mouth certainly didn't help,” says Dr. Zuckerberg. “Was it the cause? Who knows? After a while, she came back, we did four endos and crowns. The next year, she got pregnant and had twins.”
“The lack of convincing bears out by the fact that people don't come back. There is nothing more frustrating than treating a patient—you do scaling and planing, then explain that we didn't cure gum disease, we just arrested it for now. You explain that if you want to keep it at bay, you've got to take care of it at home and come in frequently so the hygienist can pick up the deposits as they come back. But the next time you see them, it's two or three years later, and it's like you never treated them. You've got to do it all over again."
Dr. Zuckerberg
Communicating the Connection
In far too many cases, patients don't hold their oral health in the same regard as their overall health. In many cases, patients are unaware of the effect their oral health has on their general health. There are many obstacles that must be overcome along the way to making the vast importance of routine dental care—and the prevention and control of PG—understood by patients.
Most patients don't understand the mouth–body connection. As someone who has been on the forefront of research into this relationship and the role PG may play, Dr. Zuckerberg can help you develop a new approach to helping patients understand that the mouth is the gateway to the body, and that simple routine care can help them avoid potentially devastating health complications.
Many patients are skeptical of modern medicine. Between the abundance of easily accessible misinformation and outright crises like the opioid epidemic, many people have little or no faith in medical professionals. Dr. Zuckerberg can teach your practice how to make important findings meaningful to patients, and communicate that the fight against PG is a fight against root causes rather than symptoms.
Many patients don't understand that maintaining excellent oral health is far more economical than neglecting their oral health. In today's online marketing landscape, thought leaders define impactful messaging as “Your money, your life.” Dr. Zuckerberg can demonstrate how to make it abundantly clear that regular dental checkups and other services the dentist provides are far more affordable than treating many conditions linked to PG.
Let's Make the Message Hit Home
Dentists are rarely considered primary care providers, even though evidence is showing that it's time for this mentality to change. Dentists themselves must lead the charge in educating the public, and Dr. Edward Zuckerberg wants to be your guide in bringing your practice and the entire field of dentistry to a new standing in medicine. Dr. Zuckerberg's expertise in social media marketing can help patients lead longer, healthier lives by giving you the power to communicate the dangers of PG and the importance of ongoing research into its treatment.
To book a speaking engagement with Dr. Zuckerberg, you can send us a message online or give us a call. We look forward to empowering your practice to draw more patients and become a force for positive changes in medicine.
A Leader in Dentistry
Keystone Bio discovered toxic proteins produced by PG in the brain tissue of Alzheimer’s Disease patients showing that these proteins are the major driver of non-congenital AD as well as chronic inflammation.
Dr. Edward Zuckerberg has spent more than 40 years on the forefront of integrating technology and dentistry. He is among the first dentists in the world to begin using tools like digital x-rays and intraoral cameras that are found in virtually all practices today, and led one of the first practices to go entirely paperless. With the advent of social media, he developed expertise in using this tool to market dental practices. Meanwhile, he has become heavily involved in biotechnology innovations in the treatment of PG.
In addition to his continuing dentistry work in Palo Alto, CA, Dr. Zuckerberg mentors dentists around the world in the use of technology to grow and improve their practices. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge and experience with your practice to help you reach more patients.
Boost Your Practice
During a private speaking engagement, Dr. Zuckerberg can give your practice the skills to not only educate the public, but also attract a larger patient base that is more committed to routine care.
