We caught up with Dentist and Dietitian, Dr Priyal Shah, who will be presenting a course ‘All About Diabetes’ next year.
While Priyal was in high school, she wasn't certain about her career path but knew she wanted to work in health care and had a strong aptitude for the sciences. She eventually chose dentistry, seeing it as a perfect blend of science and art—allowing her to engage with patients, contribute to health care, and express her creativity.
Several years after completing her dental degree, she decided to expand her expertise by pursuing a Master's in Dietetics.
“I got interested in nutrition for my own health and became aware of the impact of diet on chronic diseases that were common in my patients, affecting their oral health,” she recalls. “I felt unqualified to discuss diet with my patients and felt like I needed a credible qualification.
“The process involved a one-year bridging course in nutrition and two years for the Masters. I graduated from Curtin University in 2023, with honours.”
Priyal says there have been many links she has found working in dentistry and dietetics – many which help her as a dentist.
“Diabetes is a major one with people altering their diet to try and improve their glycaemic control,” she says. “Poorly controlled diabetes has a major impact on periodontitis, and vice versa. I became aware that people involved in diabetes care, such as diabetes educators, were less aware of the impacts on oral health.
“Another area where there is a large gap is in the aged care population,” she adds. “As a dietitian, I have become aware of the impacts of malnutrition on the older population, and how as dentists, we can help people by helping them maintain their teeth and function for longer. This allows them to continue to eat well as they age. It also highlights that towards that end stage, we as dentists should be more mindful about restricting foods, even if it impacts their caries risk or other aspects of oral health.
“Cancer and especially head and neck cancers involve anatomical and physiological changes that make it difficult for patients to eat well or enough. To combat this, patients are recommended to consume foods that are higher in energy, including oral nutrition supplements. These can potentially be cariogenic and as dentists we are likely to severely restrict patients’ consumption of these. However, research tells us that cancer malnutrition impacts the mortality and quality of life of patients and short-term use of these will not heavily impact caries risk.
“Another one that I wasn’t expecting to impact me much as a dentist was in the realm of eating disorders and disordered eating,” she adds. “I’m more aware of the way I talk about foods, restrictions and when I ask patients about their diet, I get a good sense of their overall diet quality instead of just focusing on the sugar and fermentable carbohydrates. When talking to young children and teenagers about their diets in terms of dental disease, we need to be aware of how this can impact their self-esteem and potentially contribute to disordered eating. Even in my day-to-day life, I am more aware about not commenting on people’s bodies and their weight and not commenting when people are talking about the fad diet they are currently on. Diet and wellness culture has a lot to answer for!”
Priyal has a special interest in diabetes due to its direct impact on oral health (she did one of her university placements at Diabetes WA), which is why she wanted to hold a course on diabetes.
She will be presenting ‘All About Diabetes’ in March 2025.
“I’m very excited for this course next year that I’m doing together with Diabetes WA,” Priyal says. “Attendees can expect a deep dive into diabetes including the pathophysiology, current management options including dietary advice and medications. We will also go into the impact of poorly controlled diabetes on oral health and how this can be managed for the everyday patient. The focus will be on type 2 diabetes, however, a lot of the information is applicable to type 1 diabetes as well.”
Priyal says anyone that sees patients with diabetes should attend the course. “Diabetes does not discriminate and can impact anyone so both general and specialist dentists would benefit from this course. Diabetes is highly prevalent in Australia and as dentists, it is important for us to know how to best help these patients.
“It could also be helpful if there are any audience members that have diabetes themselves, or a family member that does, and have a better understanding of the disease and its impact on oral health,” she adds. “Whilst the course is not specially for this purpose and there are other courses for this purpose specifically, it could still be a good starting point and what better way than to earn some CPD points at the same time!”
She says it is important dentists have an understanding about dietetics. “Diet impacts oral health on so many levels – from a direct influence on caries and erosion risk to indirectly impacting periodontal disease so it is important for us to understand what we should we looking for when we ask our patients about their diet,” she says. “It’s also important for people to have a good relationship with food, as this impacts long-term oral health. Disordered eating is very common and it’s important we are aware of current diet and wellness trends, and ensure we provide evidence-based advice to patients and not contribute to fear mongering and false information.
“Dentists should be treating people, not just the teeth,” she adds. “Having a good understanding of how diet impacts the patient overall, will help us help them achieve good general long-term health.”
Dr Priyal Shah will be presenting ‘All About Diabetes’ on Saturday 8 March at ADA House. Book at our website, adawa.com.au/product/all-about-diabetes
What three words best describe you?
Empathetic, Creative, Stubborn.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Going to the beach, hanging out with my greyhound Kibo, eating, and catching up with friends.
What is your favourite book?
I love a good crime thriller or fantasy book.
What is your favourite cuisine?
This is a tough one. Does dessert count as a cuisine?
Is there anything people might be surprised to learn about you?
I enjoy Bollywood dancing and have performed at events in Perth and Bunbury.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I enjoy so many aspects – I enjoy getting to meet different people from all facets of life and seeing how I can help them. I enjoy the challenge of a difficult case, the reaction when you’ve helped someone feel better, look better and eat better, and I enjoy working in a team with some of the best people.
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