Today's episode on Redefining Medicine spotlights Doug Thompson, DDS. Dr. Thompson has completed hundreds of hours of continuing education at the Kois Center in Seattle, Washington directed by Dr. John Kois. In 2005, Dr. Thompson became a Mentor to students, and in 2008 he earned the distinction of Clinical Instructor. By 2010, he was chairman of the Membership Committee and in 2011 was accepted, as one of four, to the Kois Center Advisory Board. In 2014 he accepted an offer to Chair the Advisory Board until July of 2016. Additionally, in 2015 he was offered and accepted a part time Faculty position in a teaching role about Periodontal Medicine. In 2016, he added the Wellness Dentistry topic to his teaching role. Dr. Thompson believes in an interdisciplinary treatment model that coordinates dental care with other medical practitioners for total body health care for his patients. He employs advanced DNA bacterial testing methods and other leading-edge dental science to enable early risk assessment and personalized treatment planning. He cofounded and helped lead an interdisciplinary study club attended by more than 40 dentists, which had representation from all dental specialties and focused on comprehensive treatment planning.

In addition to his dental training, Dr. Thompson is pursuing a Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine through the American Academy of Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine. In this continuum, he has presented to physicians a program titled, “Periodontal Disease and the Heart: A Collaborative Opportunity” in their Fellowship module XVI-D titled, “Metabolic Cardiovascular Medicine.”

In 2016 Dr. Thompson founded the Wellness Dentistry Network which is an internet based community of dentists with a keen awareness of how oral conditions affect whole body health. He also assists dentists and their teams with implementation strategies designed to put knowledge to work in their daily practices. Building a knowledge base of how to integrate oral health issues with medical health issues continues to evolve. Getting started, keeping current, and growing is the challenge in this exploding area. To confront this challenge is the mission of the Wellness Dentistry Network. Among other topics, he coaches risk assessment treatment planning, digital photography, and systems to transform traditional hygiene services into value added experiences of personalized periodontal medicine.