Dr. Thompson began his dental career at age 18, working as an in-house laboratory technician. Over the next 10 years, he worked and studied full time and graduated from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1996. He then completed a one-year hospital-based V.A. Residency Program in General Dentistry. In 1997, Dr. Thompson bought an established private practice in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and continues to practice there today under the practice name, Integrative Oral Medicine.
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 healthcare 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.
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. There 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.
Dr. Thompson has published professionally in the June 2010 publication of Dentistry Todayan article Salivary Testing for Periodontal Disease Diagnosis and Treatmentand in the December 2012 publication of Inside Dentistry an article titled Verifiable Outcomes Using Salivary Diagnostics in Periodontal Medicine: Test and Retest for Clinical Success.He has also authored an online course available in the U.S. and Australia entitled Personalized Periodontal Medicine: The Future is Here! Advancing the Health of Your Patients, Your Team, and Your Practice!
In 2015, 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.
Over the lastfew years, the relationship between oral health and total body health has become more widely known and accepted. For example, gum disease has been linked to a number of different health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimers,and dementia, to name just a few.Bacteria in the mouth can travel through the system and cause infection in other parts of the body.
The short answer is that wellness dentistry is dentistry for total body health. It recognizes that oral health and general health are interlinked and recommends the integration of wellness protocols and strategies into dental practices.
Wellness dentistry practitioners can help their patients achieve better health and wellness because they have the knowledge and tools necessary to identify disease early and to educate and guide patients.
Wellness dentistry is the future of dentistry, and those who embrace it now will be able to offer their patients an expanded level of care through the earlier detection of broader health issues. By looking beyond just the teeth, dentists can create an increased awareness of conditions that have a significant impact on patient health.
The Wellness Dentistry Network (WDN) was founded in 2015 by Dr. Doug Thompson from his direct experience of how dentists can transform their practices by expanding the role they play in the overall health and wellness of their patients.
WDN isnt just an organization its a vital movement that offers members the tools and resources they need forpracticing wellness dentistry. WDN members receive everything they need to integrate and self-implement wellness dentistry into their practices.
WDN also provides the platform by which other like-minded dentists and healthcare professionals can share information and best practices. Our members comprise a network of healthcare professionalswho have akeenawarenessabout how oral conditions affect total body health and the ability to make their patients lives better through the use of the tools and resources we provide them.
The information and support materials our members receive help patients feel more secure with the treatment recommendations they make. In turn, WDN membersbecometrusted guides who showpatients how to improve their total body health and overall quality of life.