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Camesia O. Matthews, "The Dental Fitness Advantage: How a Healthy Mouth Enhances Total Body Health and Elevates Performance" (Playbook Scholars, 2025)
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- [00:01]
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- [01:35]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Hello. Welcome back to another episode on the New Books Network. My name is Kaylee Tees Harlow and I'm one of your hosts. Today I am super excited to talk to Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews, author of the new book the dental fitness advantage. Dr. Matthews, a general and sports dentist, introduces the concept of dental fitness, a breakthrough approach that links oral health to whole body wellness, athletic performance and even confidence. Dr. Matthews, thank you so much for being here today.
- [02:07]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Thank you for having me.
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
So for listeners who don't know who you are yet, could you tell us a little bit more about yourself and if there was a specific moment or conversation that really sparked you to say, okay, I really need to write this book and I need everyone to know about it?
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yes, sure. I am, I like to say a little girl that grew up on the island of Antigua who fell in love with science, especially biological science. And so I've always been interested in how the body works. So as a kid I was already dabbling into that, but long term ended up in clinical microbiology. And again, that future showed me how the microbes work with the body. And that fueled me into dentistry, where I am presently. I am presently a dentist practicing in Worcester, Massachusetts. And I am super excited about dental fitness and getting my patients to be in that phrase, dental fitness, and in that world of being the optimal self for their oral health. And in terms of the reason for me to write this book, well, I pretty much found that in a lot of my conversations that the oral health conversation wasn't in the broader health conversation, it was just missing. And so as I spoke to my patients each day and I would give them information, they'd say, oh, I didn't know that, or even family members, you know, same thing. And so I found that as a pattern and I found it that there was a gap in understanding of how important oral health was to the broader body in terms of overall health and how everything is linked. So I said, man, how do we fill this gap? And pretty much I came up with, hey, this is our world in dentistry, and we have to be the ones to find a way to fill that gap and educate. So I was already practicing within the framework of dental fitness because that's what excites me and that's what I feel when I have conversations with my patients that empowers them. And so that fueled me into, you know, putting my frameworks together together and then eventually writing the book. So that's, that's, that's pretty much how it came about. It was just a gap and, and just routine, having the same conversations with people, even health conscious people, you know, people are ice bath and, you know, saunas and different things. And the oral health conversation, they're like, I didn't know that. So it's like, wow. So I felt like I had to do something where we could have a broader conversation about how important oral health was.
- [04:54]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah, I think that is really, really important. You mentioned in the book as well that you were frustrated with how dentists and the whole dental experience is being portrayed in pop culture. And the first two things that come to mind for me, especially with movies, Little Shop of Horrors, I mean, even in the title, it's just a scary dental experience. And then you have Final Destination, which notoriously already loves to unlock a new fear into our lives. So I wanted to know what portrayals you have seen and some examples. I've kind of feel that frustration for you because I can only imagine if you have patients coming to you about, oh, I saw this online and it's like, well, don't always think that's always.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
True, you know, yeah, it's your It's a great question. This, this is probably one of the things we fight the most. Believe it or not. Sadly, I think dentistry has a history of that type of portrayal and I think like decades and decades ago, it may have been warranted because I think back in the day they used to do stuff with no anesthesia. So people still have that, that view of dentistry and that portrayal is non stop even in the present day when we're not practicing like that anymore. I've seen it so many times. I've seen patients use it as to their kids as a, as a, as a bad thing, like, ooh, I'm going to, I'm going to punish you by taking you to the dentist for them to pull your teeth out. And the kid is petrified. They've never seen a dentist, but because they've been hearing these stories and it's been seen as, oh, you're going to get penalized. They come in and we are fighting a whole different battle just to be able to just look in the mouth. And this is consistent. I don't know if you saw recently in May, I think it was on snl, this is the most recent one that I saw they had a portrayal, and I love snl. This is not a knock at SNL by any means. They had a portrayal of medical students and dental students graduating. And they had the medical students, they graduated and they said the Hippocratic oath and then they had the dental students. And if you have not seen it, you should go see it. You should listen to what they had, the Hippocratic oath. As I was petrified because like I said, this is something we fight all the time. They're saying, we will stab you, we will do this evil devil. I was like, what is going on here? And that is what we fight. And so that portrayal just feeds dental anxiety. It feeds people staying away from coming in and getting care, from being curious, from gathering information. And so it's really something I hope to see change because there's so much more to dentistry that's positive. And I would love to see TV shows, even medical TV shows include Dennis, because we work closely with the medical community in getting our patients to health all the time in positive ways, but it's never portrayed that way. And so if it's only the pop culture, like, you know, it has deep roots and things go into people's subconscious, so that's, that's all they thinking it is, you know, so that's the part of the gap. So when you have a conversation and you say, Certain things. And they're like, oh, I didn't know that. And you're like, man, in 2025, people still don't know some of this. So this is part of my passion at the moment as well.
- [08:26]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah, I usually watch snl, but I somehow missed that scene. So I'm going to have to go watch that after.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah, you should watch it and then send me an email and tell me what you think.
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
I love that you're bringing in already some examples of certain patients because you work with them every day, obviously. And in the book, you also mention that there are four types of patients. You say that there. Firefighters, upkeepers, glow getters, and peak performers. And I wanted to know if you can just tell us a little bit about each of them and how our listeners can identify which one they might be.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Sure. That's just my way of breaking things down. That's how I think. But the firefighters, as it sounds, These are the 911 patients. They show up only. And when I say only, you only see them in an emergency. There's pain, there's swelling. They broke a tooth and they're in pain and they can't function. So it's waking them up at night, like they have no choice but to come in to get it. So that's the firefighters. I don't see them after either. So that's the only use for us. Like, hey, help me get out of pain. Okay, bye. And then you have the upkeepers. These, these are the ones, they take prevention seriously. They come in regularly for their cleanings. They come under recall schedule. They come every six months. They're very consistent. They love getting clean. They love how it feels. You know, we, we have the upkeepers that are, that are routine people, and then we have the glow getters that they are only concerned with how their teeth look. I know when I say they'll. They, they walk around with a mirror. It's like, do you think my teeth are. Is white? Yeah, I think it's white. No, it needs to be wider. You know, they just optimize to make it as wide as possible or, oh, this is sticking out. You think I should do something? That's the only concern, Nothing else. You know, I just, I want the peak performer group to grow. And that group is pretty much. They really care about the overall thing about their mouth. Like, I don't want this getting in my system. I don't want to have inflammation and have it get in my system. What should I do? They ask questions like, what should I change in my Routine, how should I be eating? What should I do after I eat? You know, that's the group I wish to see a little bit more of. But I break everything down into those four. Sometimes you may fall between one or two, but most people are very distinct into one of those four groups on average.
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
Which type of patient do you see mostly on a day to day basis?
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
I would say I see a lot of firefighters, but I also will have right below them the upkeepers that, you know, they'll say, okay, I'm still going to come in for my cleaning no matter what. Sometimes the upkeepers may not even always do all the treatment, but they're coming in for their cleaning, they're not going to miss it. So I would say it's between those two that I see the most great.
- [11:29]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
You also mention the five pillars, which is kind of the whole structure of the book, which I thought was really well organized. It was very easy to follow. Could you tell us what those five pillars are? Kind of a quick elevator pitch for, for the listeners?
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Sure. I see dental fitness as it falls into these five pillars, and they are prevention, posture protection, presentation and psychology. And so I'll go through each one. Prevention. I pretty much see this as the biochemical pillar. This is about keeping your healthy mouth machine, as I talk about in the book, which includes your oral microbiome, your saliva and your dentinal fluid transport system within the middle of the tooth in optimal balance. And so you're making those biochemical systems work for you, not against you. All right, and then we go to posture. I see posture as the structural pillar that includes how your teeth, your jaws, your tongue and your facial muscles and your chewing muscles work together. This, this has to do with how things are positioned. If your teeth are out of alignment, your jaw's out of alignment, it's going to affect. It's a ripple effect of a number of things from airway, breathing, sleep, muscle strength, balance, you name it. And then we have protection that's pretty much protecting your teeth from injury. And I call them preventable injuries. So if you play sports, if you are active, if you're grinding at night, you know, if you play sports, we want you to wear a custom mouth guard. If you're grinding at night, you're coming in, you're having symptoms, we want you to wear a night guard. And then the third part of this group is people that use their teeth for things they shouldn't, like opening bottles or chewing on pens or chewing thin nails, chewing on ice. We get a lot of preventable preventable dental injuries from those situations. So protection pillar talks about, about those habits and what you need to do. The presentation pillar, pretty much the social pillar. You know, how do you show up with your smile and your breath to the world in social settings? Are you happy with your smile? Are you covering up your breath all the time. And we go through some of that, and psychology is pretty much the mindset pillar. Some of what we discussed earlier with what your mindset is around dentistry might be from what you've been fed through the media or even from your family history or something like that. And that really, I call that the most important pillar because it could range from small anxiety to like, some serious anxiety. It could be some serious beliefs because that's all you saw in your household. And the habits that you form from that, that's all you know. So this one is very important. And if it's something that is preventing you from coming in or preventing you from doing certain things, if this one is not right, none of the other protection pillar, none of the other pillars work really well. So psychology is really, really an important pillar. And that's the synopsis of all five.
- [14:40]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah, I mean, for psychology, I mean, we go back to the dental anxiety, which is super real in so many different ways for different people. We already discussed pop culture and seeing SNL and other movies and then also family trauma, Right. Like when you see some, like your sister or your brother come back after getting their wisdom teeth and they're swollen and they're angry and crying and just.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah, and, and, and in one, one part of the psychology pillar didn't mention people that have been abused. That is an important pillar as well. Because, because dentistry is such an intimate space that we work in, we have to be cognizant of all of that. And we're. And we're very sensitive to it. So there are people that have been abused, and sometimes they'll say it and they're like, you know, if I flinch or if I sit back, you know, it's not you, it's just the situation. So we have to work through all of those types of things just to be able to get people to the right place, get them to dental fitness, if you will. But we work through it because it's important.
- [15:42]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
I think that's so fascinating because I, I feel like from either, like, also personal experience, if you don't really know your dentist or see them too often, you don't, you know, may not trust them as much. Right. Than like a therapist that you talk to every week or every other week, or a doctor that you see every, you know, three to six months. So I had no idea that, you know, you can, you can be honest. Like, I think that's the best thing. You have to be transparent with your past to get over it.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Have to. I am the most happy when a patient says, doc, I have severe dental anxiety. I. Because now I know, I know how to work with you, I know how to go through with you. We may take it a little slower. We may, we may not do anything the first visit. Let's just talk. Where are you? What's going on with your oral health that you would like to see change? Like, it's a completely different approach when someone says that. So it's very important to me for a patient to communicate that. And there's some people, they'll come in and like, okay, I have some anxiety, but really it's just a drill. I can't hear the sound. And so they're headphones for that. So it's an easy fix. Um, so it's like I said, it's a range. It's a range. And the more you communicate with us, the more we can get you through it.
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah, that's a great example. Like being able to put headphones in. It's another way to feel more calm and kind of in your own element and distracting you from the appointment. Do you have any other tips or tricks to how, like how you can get someone to feel that trust? Communication is obviously one, but is there, like, a specific mindset shift that people should have before they walk into their next appointment?
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah, the way I see it, I say, okay, if you have anxiety, but, you know, you should go to the next. You know, staying away is not helping you and you need to get in there. Even if when you call to make an appointment, you say, hey, I just want to talk this time. Right? Because for me, you also need to feel out a dentist to see if they're sensitive to that. Now, I believe a lot of dentists are, but there may be some that are not, and they should not be the ones that you go to because it may just fuel your anxiety further. And so if you come with just like a sit down conversation and we go through things, we're able to take it slowly. In addition to that, you could come with a friend. I've had a patient where she came in with such severe anxiety. And when I say severe, she hadn't been in like, I would say 15, 20 years, but she is coming in with her husband because she had To. She was in so much pain, but we were able to get her through. We just had a conversation. Her husband held her hand the whole time. And once she understood what she needed, then we were able to just pull apart each little section, just little by little until she didn't come in with him anymore. But it started like that. And once she got a little bit and a little bit and a little bit, she realized, okay, okay, I can do this. Then she was in a much better space. So we. I've seen it all. And another thing is, like, mindfulness breath, you know, even in the chair, sometimes if I have to do a procedure and I see is like, I just have them go through certain breath exercises just to calm the nervous system. And that usually works as well. So there's a bunch of different ways to kind of get someone through it. But us knowing ahead of time is the number one thing. Do not hide it from us. There's no judgment here, because for me, I would prefer you tell me and come in and we do a little bit at a time, then for you to stay away for 15 years. And then we have a whole bunch of issues that we have to get done. And it's urgent now, and it's even more anxiety with that, you see. So it's like a. It's like a vicious cycle. So, you know, communicate with your dentist. Most people are open. Like I said, we have everything. Earphones, blankets, we have TVs. We do different things to really get you through it. And once you get through it the first time, then you realize, okay, this wasn't so bad. Okay, I'll do the next thing. And the next thing you get, you gain a little confidence. But it's not something that can be ignored because it's real. People have had trauma, people have had bad experiences, and it's something that we have to take into consideration.
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
Would you say it's the same process and advice for kids, too, that come in with their parents?
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah. So kids, for me, a kid that's never been to the dentist but comes in afraid, I feel like they had heard or seen something that may have them scared. Now, every kid will walk into a dental office or a doctor's office with a little bit of like, what are you going to do to me? Right. Which is normal. But there's some kids that will come, and they've never been, and they are hysterical. Usually there was something said that is fueling that. But it's the same thing. We have certain tricks and techniques for kids. For kids, what works best is for them to know every single thing you're going to do. So, for instance, they're looking because they're like, whoa, what's happening? So I'll give them the mirror. Hey, I'm going to use this to. To spy on your teeth. So they'll let me, right? Because I just told them what I'm going to do with the tool. If I'm going to use something else, I say, hey, I'm going to use this to count your teeth. You'll see them relax after a while when they realize, oh, you're just checking my teeth. This is not a big deal, but you have to walk them through it for the kids. They have to know every detail of what you're about to do next. Otherwise, there's no trust. They'll start screaming before you even do anything. So, same thing. It's a lot of. Of knowing what child. And there's some kids that come in, and they sit down and they open wide. No problems, right? And there's some parents that do a good job. They started bringing them once they had teeth. So coming to the dentist was just another thing. And the others, you know, at the age of five, might be the first time. So they have a little trepidation. We get them through it. But we have to use a host of techniques to make sure that we can get through the appointment with kids as well.
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
These are great tips. Thank you. That's awesome.
- [21:52]
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- [22:04]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Mm.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
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Kaylee Tees Harlow
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
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- [22:52]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Close your eyes. Exhale. Feel your body relax. And let go of whatever you're carrying today.
- [22:59]
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
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- [23:20]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
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- [23:24]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
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- [23:46]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Apps, games and skills faster. Try now@windows.com copilot in your book, you also talk about the comparison between going to a dental appointment and also going to the gym. So I wanted to know if you can let us give us a little bit more about what you mean by that analogy and what makes oral health more of like a workout than people may think.
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Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah. So, you know, when you think of the gym, you don't think of it as an emergency room. Right. You think of it as training, you think of conditioning, you think of it as, I'm staying ready. So I would argue that's how you should think of your oral health. In the book I talked about medicine 3.0, which is, this was coined by Peter Tia in his book outlive and he talked about healthspan, which is, you know, in healthcare today, we're looking at early detection, early prevention, and personalized care to extend healthspan. And I think that is the same thing we should be doing in dental dentistry. So I see dental fitness as the same thing where you're applying those principles to the mouth. So your dental visit becomes more of training your system. The system that I talked about in prevention, the biochemical system, making sure we are accounting for that being at a certain balance, making sure that it's not too far out of whack, you know, assessing your current level. So you, you don't know how to maintain something unless you know where you are. So when you come in, we're able to look at your data, look at everything, look at your plan and say, oh, this is, this is what we think you should be doing. These are some tools. This is how you tweak your routine. Same thing if you have a gym, you have a personal trainer, they're going to say, hey, you know, you need to get stronger. I want you. Even though they're not with you every workout, they're going to give you a plan. They're going to assess where you are, they're going to work towards outcome and then reassess. So we know that you're making progress, you're in a particular space. So that's how I see it. So it's the same thing. It's getting information, forming certain habits, reducing your risk factors, and then building a program from there, like a coach would, so that when you go home, you're not getting so far out of whack that when I see you the next time, we're like, oh, whoa, what happened? So that's my correlation, if you will.
- [26:10]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
That makes sense. I mean, every time I go to the dentist, they're like, oh, don't forget to floss. And I'm like, oh, it's my least favorite thing to do. But you do have to be consistent because that stuff, you know, it creeps up, right?
- [26:23]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
And so, see, this is a good, this is a good thing. So for me, I don't want to just tell you, don't forget to floss. I want you to understand why I'm saying that. So when I talk about flossing for my patients, and I was like, I want you to be fit, flossing means that I'm optimizing for your microbiome, right? That's one of the biochemical system that we talk about in prevention. What does that mean? At night when you go to bed, if you have food still between your teeth, you are automatically going to go out of balance. Why? Because the bacteria is feeding on that food that's stuck between your teeth. Now, if you haven't flossed in a while, if you ever floss and smell the floss, you understand that the food that's there is rotting in your mouth and it's causing you to be out of balance. The other issue is flossing. For me, if you can only floss once, I say floss at night because what happens at night, saliva is less automatically. That's just from the circadian rhythm of our bodies. So if you have saliva that's less, that's not washing things away, and you have more food in between your teeth, it's bacteria going crazy, right? So if there's nothing on your teeth, we don't have things going out of balance. So I want my patients to understand why I'm telling you to floss. I want you to stay fit. I want you to stay in a certain range. And so that becomes important. And, you know, then I give them tools to get you into that habit. Pair it with something else before you go to bed. What do you do before bed as you're reading? Floss, as you're watching your last show? Just get stuff. Anything on the teeth, get it off. So these are the reasons for me why, when you look at it through that lens, it gets you thinking about it in a different way. So now it becomes less. Is. This is something that I don't like to do. This is an annoyance, too. Let me just keep this imbalance here so that I'm not going months without it. And then I show up with a cavity or I show up with inflammation around the tooth and wondering why, you see? So that. That. That's my way of communicating it to my patients.
- [28:25]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
I have been invested in getting good water picks for the last couple of years. What is your thought on using water picks at night and even after? I mean, even just finishing a meal when you're home?
- [28:39]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
I think that's a great habit. The biggest question I get is, should I use my water pick instead of my floss? And I would say no. I think it's a great adjunct because the more you can get stuff off the teeth, the better. So whether it's after meal, whether it's before bed, the key is nothing on the teeth. The problem is sometimes things get a little deeper down the gum in pockets that I think I'm not sure the water floss will get to. So that's why I still am not comfortable saying replace flossing with a water floss. And. But it's a great. It's a great tool. It's a great tool. And it's even great for some people that maybe wearing braces with stuff getting caught that is hard to get to, or people that have a bridge you need to get under it, that type of thing. But, yes, it's a great adjunct. And they're getting better. You know, some of the tips were a little bit clunky. I think as we evolve, they're getting the design a little bit better where it can get into spaces. So I don't know, maybe eventually we could say replace floss, but I'm not there yet.
- [29:53]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah, yeah, my dentist says the same thing. They're like, this is an addition, not a replacement. So I think that's really important. And I like that you mention the bacteria that builds up, because ultimately what goes through our mouth goes right into our bodies. So I wanted to know if you can talk about, you know, the importance of brushing your teeth, not only, but because it does potentially cause other maybe diseases that we may not know about cause. It's invisible. We can't see it.
- [30:20]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Exactly. So, you know, we're back in the prevention pillar. This particular area is what we're talking about when we say brush your teeth. We just don't want stuff sitting there. And the bacteria, if you give it just a little bit, it's like multiplying rapidly. So the key is to optimize that, because what happens when you go out of balance with the bacteria, you have inflammation. And that's what you're referring to when we're in an age now where the research is saying that poor oral health is linked to 55 different systemic diseases, and we're talking from Alzheimer's, heart disease, we're talking infertility, we're talking a bunch of stuff now that they cannot separate poor oral health from. So it becomes even more important in the prevention pillar to prevent inflammation, because that's what's happening. When we have inflammation in the mouth that's built up, it gets into the blood system, and then the bacteria from the mouth gets into other sites in the body, and then we have these different things. The body's now responding to that and causing other issues. So that's where that comes in when we're saying, hey, this is why it's important to keep as best as you can your mouth in a good balance. We want you to stay out of the inflammation stage, because we know inflammation doesn't just stay in the mouth, because our teeth has a whole system, a blood system, the nerve system that's completely connected to the rest of the body and easily, easily gets there. So that's. That's the aspect that you're talking about.
- [31:58]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
I'm not sure. I think you may have mentioned this in your book, but is it usually when there's some sort of infection in your mouth that's kind of like the first indicator for something more serious for the rest of the body?
- [32:10]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yes, because it's an immune issue. Right. So you know, there's infection. When I see patients that come in and it's like, yeah, there's a bump in my gum, and this infection has been there for months. And I'm like, no, come in sooner. So I'm here now. We're chasing it. We're trying to get that. That infection out of the body. Right. And I'm telling you, our bodies, we're machines. Our bodies are very resilient. But if you push it, you could, you know, get into the next stage, which is, which is where I don't want you to get to. And so it becomes very important. That's why I approach it from a dental fitness lens, because I feel like that's more empowering, that says, you know what, I can find the habits that get me there. Instead of me telling you, well, you have a disease and you feel like less about yourself, if you will. I really like for it to be approached from that, from that angle. But, yeah, it's literally optimizing your mouth to make sure your body's not fighting unnecessary battles that you don't have to.
- [33:17]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
I know another reason why a lot of people don't like to go to the dentist is cost. And that I think, could feel the dental anxiety even more. And, you know, the healthcare system in our country has just been on and off disaster here and there. We don't want to get into that right now. But I think it's interesting that, you know, when I get my insurance through the state, there's the health insurance and then they have a dental as well. Is there a reason why they're separate? Because I wonder if this is another reason why people don't link it as the same, because it's two separate insurances and some people may not even have dental insurance. So what do you say to them?
- [34:00]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Man, you, you, you're making such a great point. Listen, part of the separation is how it's. That's what it was. When I say ages ago, like at least 100 years ago. And I feel like we still, in that archaic system, I think it's time for us to put the body, the mouth back into the body where it's not separate, to be honest. And because of some of the things that we're discussing and some of the research that's coming out. You are correct. Some, some of some people don't come to the dentist because not only do they fear and have anxiety of what they'll find, they fear the price as well. And again, that's like a vicious cycle. The problem I have with dental insurance is they don't value how important I think oral health is. So they'll say, oh, yeah, we'll give you this much for the year, for the year. And if you have anything that may be out of balance that we need to fix and get you back in balance, they'll say, well, we only cover this much. So that's not very encouraging for someone to jump in and say, let me get on top of it. So I'll be honest with you. The way I see dental insurance going right now, it's pretty much a glorified coupon. Sadly, sadly, it should be way more than that. But that's what it feels like. It is. And so we have different systems in place to help patients, you know, different companies that will help, help them with, like, a little payment plan where it's not like all of the money coming out at once. We have, like, different subscriptions now in, in dentistry, where we say, okay, for the year. You know, if you, you subscribe in this way, this covers this much. And a lot of people do that in addition to their insurance because they know, like, hey, I may need this, this. I may want to come in for an extra cleaning. I don't want it to be like some exorbitant price. So we do recognize that in dentistry, and in recent years, we've been getting a little bit more creative in structuring plans to help patients seek out oral care and to get on top of it. So you asked a great question.
- [36:10]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
So you do encourage people to also be honest about that, right? When they walk into your, your office, like, I don't have dental insurance. Do you have resources rather than going to their insurance company and saying, can you give me more cash for this?
- [36:24]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Well, I mean, it's good to communicate with, with your insurance. And sometimes they'll say, you know, the insurance will say, oh, I'm in network with this doctor or this office, and I'm not. It's good to have all the information because either way, we want you to take charge of your health. We, we don't want it to be you sitting back when things are brewing. You know, I, I've had, like I said, I had someone, as I see this all the time, someone that stayed away for 20 years. And it's, it's a myriad of reasons. So now when you come in, we're literally untangling like this 20 years worth of stuff for someone that's already stayed away. So we don't want you to do that. We want, just the same way you see your PCP yearly or whatever, we want the same. We want you to do the same because it's all connected. There are times I'll see a patient in my office and I may have to be communicating with your pcp, right, because everything is important. I've had people come in, they're going to have cardiac surgery and, and their cardiologist will send them to get cleared. Now that's actually a practice now they won't do the surgery unless all infection, all inflammation is taken care of in the mouth because the research is undeniable now how easy it is that stuff from the mouth can get to the blood system, get to the heart. So we are already, I see some shifts. We have a long way to go, but it's just working in totality now. And like I said, I do wish that we were a part of the medical because it's that important. But, you know, I still hope our governing bodies get us there. At the moment, we do the best we can with the dental insurance separate and what they cover and what they don't.
- [38:15]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah. Well, I like to see your book, Dr. Matthews, as the first major step in the academia world, at least, because it's a book and people are going to pick this up whether what background, you know, they identify with. What else besides writing such a, you know, important book? What else do you see needs to happen from our community, from our culture, and quite frankly, just in our country? You know, how are we going to get and move forward with this, you know, issue?
- [38:45]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah, no, great. I would say just like when we started on the podcast, I say I feel like oral health needs to be put back into the health conversation. And so I'll give you an example. You know, I have friends in corporate offices and different things, and they will have, like, different things happening with that. Talks about health, but oral health is never a part of it. So that's part of where I see us fitting in. So I. That's, that's part of my plan long term, is to be able to fit ourselves into these spaces and say, hey, we belong in this space, too. Your employees need to understand how their oral health affects how they're performing, whether it's in the boardroom or not. Like, how is this, how is inflammation affecting your cognitive and how sharp you are, or how is your bite off affecting your balance? And different things. Like, we need to be in those spaces as well. I see a broader conversation in cardiovascular clinics and diabetic clinics because the oral aspect is so huge in those cases. And we want to make sure everything is being accounted for, not just some, yeah, we're going to do everything we can cardiovascularly. But then if you have inflammation in the mouth and you don't know what to do or you don't have a good routine at home, it's like you're fighting against yourself. It's a blind spot. And I talk about it, I call it a blind spot in the book because we're not Taking everything into account. So that's what I would love to see in all these programs, that the mouth is a part of it. You know, these, you had health fairs and different things. If you have all these other aspects that are being accounted for and then oral health is missing, I think we, we have, we're missing an opportunity with that.
- [40:45]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah. One of the other things that could be really great for anyone that's listening, that wants to take that extra step in taking care of their oral health is your dental fitness newsletter and app. Could you tell us a little bit more about what that's about?
- [41:03]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah, so I have a dental fitness score app. And that, and that for me is a key part of, you know, even if you don't go into the dental office yet, you could just like, assess yourself at home because I think assessment is important. You know, how do you know where to start? You know, where are you now? And there's some things that you can do at home. So I created a dental fitness score for that reason. You know, in the book there's a QR code that you can scan and take it. And what the score does, it gives you overall dental fitness score to see where you are percentage wise. But it also gives you a score for each pillar. So you can look at and say, oh, my lowest score is prevention. I, I, I see where I can change that. I can floss more or I can, whatever. I could start with something for the next 30 days. It could be just one small habit. So that's why I created that. And then that's something that you can have a conversation with your dentist and say, yeah, you know, I didn't score too well on this area. You know, what are things and tips and tricks? I do get some in the book, but speak to your provider on that. And yes, I do have a newsletter. You know, I'll be posting more about, you know, my book and I'll be giving news, writing a weekly newsletter that's giving a little deeper insight on some of these pillars as, as we go along. So, yes, yes, I do have those two that I feel like will be beneficial for an average person.
- [42:40]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
And do you have a website or a place where people can sign up?
- [42:44]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yes. So it's dental fitness pillars slash score. You can, you can take the dental fitness score that way. Or when you buy the book, you could scan the, there's a QR code at the back, I think at the back of the book. And somewhere in the book as well, you could scroll. You could take the dental fitness score that way. And then you can go to Dental Fitness Pillars and you can sign up for the newsletter as well. Dentalfitnesspillars.com, i'm sorry.
- [43:10]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yes, perfect. And just kind of like a final wrap up question. This has been really insightful. I encourage everyone to get the book, of course, because there's more about the conversation that we've had today. Um, but ideally, what are the core emotions that you hope people take away from reading your book? And also this conversation. Are you hoping that the dental anxiety just slowly creeps away? Are you encourage people to step outside of their comfort zone? What are, what are some things that run through your mind?
- [43:45]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Well, I would say the, the, the most important thing for me is seeing oral health through a different lens. Right. You know, my, my, my key thing is strong mouth, strong body, strong life. And if, if you, instead of seeing the mouth as something that you deal with when there's an emergency only, I, I feel like you're missing a, a greater picture. So it's just, just emotionally, I, I, I would love for people to appreciate their, their mouth in a different way. Don't see it separate from the body. Don't see it as, hey, I only need to do anything if it hurts. See it as something that you're training to work for you. In addition, I want people to feel less shame and fear and more curiosity and empowerment. Like, I can actually have control here. I can actually tweak my habits. I can actually do some things to make sure I'm not completely out of balance. I, I can, I can say, oh, after I eat, let me make sure I'm not staying acidic. That's going to help my microbiome, that's going to help my saliva. It's just like a different way of going through your everyday habits and going through and seeing it as like, yeah, no, this is not just about my mouth. This is actually my whole health. And so even as a New Year's resolution, I would say, just like we like to be, the gyms are full in the new year, I say put oral health as one of the resolutions and say, hey, this is the year I start with something small. It doesn't have to be changing a bunch of things all at once. It could be like, you know what, I'm going to floss more. I'm going to figure out a way, I'm going to attach it to something I already do. Or, hey, I'm gonna make sure I go in and see the dentist. I've been putting it off for years. I'M gonna get that done. Whatever it is, it could be something small. But just seeing everything through a different lens, that's. That's what I would hope people will take away. Because to me, that is truly the dental fitness advantage.
- [45:56]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Yeah. I mean, that makes so much sense. And just like anything else, when there's a, you know, lifestyle change or any sort of change in your life, it's all about consistency, especially when it comes to even working out. Right. You have to be consistent whether that's you brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing and water picking, all of those things kind of go hand in hand. Yeah. And I remember the first day I picked up this book and started reading it, I actually broke my back tooth from a popcorn kernel. And I was like, this is perfect.
- [46:29]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
I can't. You would be. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a patient because of a popcorn kernel.
- [46:36]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
My dentist said the same thing to me.
- [46:38]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
It happens all the time. And it's a popcorn kernel. I've also had a pit from Olive. Those two things. I see people with a broken, fractured tooth all the time because of it, because it's hidden. You don't realize it's there. And so you put full force fracture.
- [46:58]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
I felt like a firefighter patient that day. In the morning at 7:00am oh, wow.
- [47:04]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
Yeah. Yeah. It happens. It happens, but, yeah.
- [47:08]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
All right, well, this has been a lovely conversation, Dr. Matthews. Thank you so much for taking the time. I really hope our listeners feel this sense of shift in the mind thinking about this idea to not lead with anxiety, but to lead with curiosity, I think is very important. So thank you so much.
- [47:29]
Dr. Kamisha O. Matthews
No problem. Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure talking to you.
- [47:33]
Kaylee Tees Harlow
Likewise.
- [47:47]
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