General diseases and oral health

Dental medicine is not an isolated discipline but part of general medicine. Pathological processes in the mouth have similar features as ones in other systems and organs and there is mutual dependence and bilateral influence.

General diseases often affect the condition of the hard and soft tissues in the mouth, but an altered oral condition also affects the general health condition. Numerous processes (physiological and pathological) in other parts of the body alter the usual characteristics of the oral cavity, affecting the dentition, the gingiva, the tongue, the mucosa, the saliva, the oral ecosystem, etc. In both dental and general medicine, the same markers may be used.

The oral cavity and its physiological contents are readily available for examination due to non-invasive methods of collection of saliva, dental plaque, oral flora, and epithelial cells. The study is not associated with unpleasant and risky manipulations such as blood collection, gastroscopy or biopsy.

The study of oral pathology and the characterization of the oral cavity components will contribute to a better understanding of ongoing processes, will improve both dental and general diagnosis and therapy. This is the thrust of modern oral medicine – improving the general health of the individual.

Prof. Dr. Vladimir Emanuilov Panov

Dr. Panov graduated from the Faculty of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of Sofia in 2001. In 2009 he became an assistant professor in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Pediatric Dentistry at the Medical University of Varna. From 2013 to 2021 he was a head of the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Oral Pathology, and from 2014 to 2016 he was also a head of the Department of Pediatric Dental Medicine, Dental Medicine Faculty at Medical University Varna. He defended his dissertation for obtaining the degree “Doctor of Medical Sciences” in 2016. He has been a professor since 2017. He conducts lecture courses for students of Dental Medicine both in Bulgarian and English in the disciplines: Oral Pathology and Conservative Dentistry. He has been a scientific supervisor to eleven doctoral students, all of whom have successfully defended their dissertations, and three of them have further acquired the academic position of "associate professor". He specializes in “Dental Clinical Allergology” and “Operative Dentistry and Endodontics”. He is holder of the badge of honor "Signum Laudis Pro Scienmeritis". He is the author of over 120 publications; has participated in the compilation of 9 textbook; has produced 3 monographs, and 2 manuals. His impact factor from publications and participation in various for a is over 36, the citations of his publications are over 500, he has led 6 funded research projects. Vl. Panov is a co-founder of the Bulgarian Association of Oral Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of Medinform-Journal of Medical and Dental Practice.