On a recent episode of the ABC show "The View", Whoopi Goldberg confessed to her audience that she had missed the previous show's taping with an abscess that required emergency gum surgery. She has been having dental problems for years because she had left things go and was now paying the price. She is going to have all her teeth extracted and then need to have placement of false teeth. Ms. Goldberg stated " Your mouth is connected to your entire system, your immune system and if you do not take care of your mouth, you are not taking care of your body. And it will kill you! Save your own life!" This is not news to the dental profession as we have known for years that most of the major systemic diseases known to mankind, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and pre term/low birth weight babies are directly related to the health of your mouth. It is important as a patient that you question your dentist to make sure that they are caring for more than your teeth and smile and that they realize dentistry has a vital role in preventive medicine and life extension. And it may even help to SAVE YOUR LIFE!