A world where your mouth is finally part of your body.
Meet The Dental Medical Convergence. The nonprofit. The founder. The plan.
We exist so every family gains more healthy years with the people they love by understanding the one connection medicine has missed for 186 years: a quiet mouth infection becomes a heart attack, a stroke, a stolen decade of your life.
I retired thinking I was done. I was not done.
I was a dentist for 40 years. During that time, I witnessed countless patients who walked in carrying a pain free dental infection they had no idea was there.
Some infections were small and some were severe, but almost none of them hurt. And the bacteria from those infections were quietly entering the bloodstream, damaging people's hearts, brains, joints and kidneys.
For many years I assumed physicians had been trained to spot the link between the mouth and the rest of the body. I assumed they were talking to dentists about it, and dentists were talking back. None of that was happening. None of it is happening today. I founded The Dental Medical Convergence to close that gap.
Three of my patients inspired me to step up, start a movement, and warn every family to look for the signs their physicians and dentists were never trained to see. Alice was on dialysis with medications that had stopped working, Debbie had a recurring leg abscess no physician could trace, and Melissa was on daily blood pressure medication. When we treated the infections in their mouths, all three began healing in their bodies. That is when I knew the gap was too wide to leave for anyone else to close.
Volunteering reached the patients in front of me. The book I wrote, Are Your Teeth Making You Sick?, reached one reader at a time. The TEDx talk reached one audience. The Dental Medical Convergence is the next step, and I hope it is a lasting one that makes a difference!
I encourage you to learn more about who we are and what we do. If you decide to join us, you will help the next family learn what no one ever taught yours.
Alice. Debbie. Melissa.
Alice
Artist on dialysis for years
Alice had been on dialysis for years when her bleeding at her dialysis appointments became difficult to control, her medications quit working, and she had no energy left to make art. Severe, silent and painless gum disease in her mouth turned her life upside down. We treated it with antibiotics and removed the infected teeth.
Three weeks later, her bleeding stopped, her medications worked again, and she was making art.
Debbie
Recurring leg abscess
Debbie had been through three rounds of antibiotics for a recurring thigh abscess that would not stay away, and the third time it returned her physicians finally tested the bacteria and discovered it was coming from her mouth. Her exam revealed three painless abscesses. We treated them with antibiotics and carefully removed the infected teeth.
Three weeks later, the leg abscess healed on its own.
Melissa
Registered nurse on blood pressure medication
Melissa visited her physician for a routine medical exam years ago. Her blood pressure was high, so they put her on blood pressure medication. During her initial examination, we uncovered a severely infected lower left second molar, which caused bone loss so severe we could not save the tooth. We treated it with antibiotics first and then carefully removed it. She came back for follow-up dental care and gave us this update.
Three weeks later, she no longer needed her blood pressure medication.
Three patients. Three weeks. Millions more could heal the same way if we all spread awareness and people learn what to look for.
I wrote a book. The book wasn't enough.
In 2023, Dr. Chuck wrote a book no physician had written before: Are Your Teeth Making You Sick? The Answer is Right Under Your Nose! Forty years of clinical practice, written for the families who need it most, not for clinicians.
Inside, you will:
- Read the full Alice, Debbie and Melissa stories
- Discover what really causes cavities and gum disease (hint: it is not sugar)
- Master the 8-to-10-minute home care routine that costs nothing
- Learn how to find a dentist who understands the oral systemic connection
- Know exactly what to ask your physician about a problem they were never trained to see
If you only do one thing after reading this page, read the book.
Five factors determine your long-term health.
We exist for the one most overlooked.
Long-term health outcomes are impacted by five factors, all of them within your control. Other nonprofits and organizations are already championing four factors. The fifth has no champion, and that gap is the reason The Dental Medical Convergence exists.
What we put into our body
Food, beverage, medications, vaccinations, inhalants.
Exercise
Our body was not meant to be still.
A Healthy Mouth
The front door to the body.
A Good Night's Sleep
When the body does its best to heal.
Attitude
The mindset that makes the other four possible.
A sick mouth can quietly undo every other healthy choice you make.
Bottom up. Patient first.
One conversation at a time.
Most oral systemic efforts educate physicians first. For decades, that model has not closed the gap. So we decided to go in the other direction.
We educate the public first.
Plain language. Peer reviewed sources. Videos, articles, the book, the TEDx talk, and this site.
We give patients the right questions to ask their doctors.
is a sentence that shifts a 15 minute appointment in a way the system cannot ignore.
We collect and share stories.
Every patient story we publish becomes evidence the next reader can act on. Bottom up.
We grow the mission one conversation at a time.
Enough patients asking the right questions forces a generation of physicians and dentists to coordinate, and a generation of medical schools to teach it. We do not have to convince the system. We simply have to educate and convince enough patients.
Bottom-up change is slower. But we've tried everything else.
What we know to be true.
Our beliefs are grounded in 40 years of clinical practice and two decades of supporting research. Verify any of them anytime. The evidence holds up.
Harmful bacteria entering the body anywhere is unhealthy. That includes the mouth, where infections release bacteria into the bloodstream.
Most dental infections cause no pain. Lack of pain is not the same as getting a clear bill of health.
The bacteria in gum disease contribute to cardiovascular disease. They have also been linked to diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other systemic conditions.
People take action once they understand the consequences. That is why educating the public is the foundation of our work.
Physicians and dentists were never trained on the oral systemic connection. That is not their fault, and it is the gap The Dental Medical Convergence exists to close.
The power to have a healthy mouth is in your hands. Eight to ten minutes a day is all it takes to make a difference in your life.
Knowledge becomes power only when you act on it. That action is donating, sharing what you know, asking the right questions, and refusing to wait for the system to catch up.
The one organization teaching families what most doctors don't.
Many other organizations work on parts of this problem. We respect them. We do something none of them do.
The Dental Medical Convergence's ambition is not to be the biggest. It is to make sure every family knows what their physician was never trained to tell them, and has the tools to act on it.
One founder, a growing board, and a commitment to transparency.
Dr. Charles "Chuck" Reinertsen, DMD
Forty plus years of clinical dental practice. Author of Are Your Teeth Making You Sick? The Answer is Right Under Your Nose! (HigherLife Development Services, 2023). TEDx speaker on the oral systemic connection. Active volunteer at a free dental clinic. Founded The Dental Medical Convergence in 2023 so the education would outlive his clinical career.
Building the board
The Dental Medical Convergence is a Florida 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in 2023. We are actively building the board of directors and inviting clinicians, public health leaders, and patient advocates who want to help close the gap. If that is you, write to ama@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org.
How donations are used
Every dollar funds three things: educational content (videos, articles, the book and TEDx outreach), Dr. Chuck's volunteer outreach at a free dental clinic, and this website. Our first annual report ships at the close of FY2026; impact summaries available on request to ama@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org.
Independence
The Dental Medical Convergence accepts no funding from device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, dental supply companies, or industry groups. Our funding comes from individual donors and small private gifts. Editorial independence is the only way the message stays trustworthy.
Be part of our mission.
"Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action and directed to a definite end."
Three ways to help. None require you to be a clinician. All bring us closer to closing the gap for the next family.
1. Donate.
Your gift funds the videos, the articles, the website, and the volunteer dental clinic where Dr. Chuck still sees patients in retirement. Pick a tier or write your own.
Every gift funds the same mission, no matter the size. The amounts are starting suggestions. Ask us for the latest impact summary at ama@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org.
2. Share your story.
If you or a family member found relief from a medical issue after treating a hidden mouth infection, your story can give the next reader the courage to act. We collect and share these in your own words.
Stories@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org →3. Help build the board.
We are actively looking for clinicians, public health leaders, and patient advocates to join our board of directors. If you want to help govern this work, write to us.
ama@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org →Questions worth answering directly.
If the oral systemic connection is real, why doesn't every physician talk about it?
Most physicians were never trained to include the mouth in an examination. That is not their fault. The training models that built modern medicine separated dentistry from the rest of healthcare more than a century ago and the structure has barely changed. The research has been building for many decades, but it takes time for that evidence to reshape a 15 minute appointment. The Dental Medical Convergence exists to shorten that gap by going to the public directly.
Is The Dental Medical Convergence a dental practice?
No. The Dental Medical Convergence is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit. We do not provide clinical care or accept patients. We help you understand the oral systemic connection so you can have a more informed conversation with your own dentist and physician.
How is my donation used?
Donations fund educational content production (videos, written research translation, the book and TEDx outreach), the resource library on this site, and the volunteer outreach Dr. Chuck does through a free dental clinic. Annual financials and impact summaries are available on request to ama@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org.
How is The Dental Medical Convergence different from other oral-health nonprofits?
Most oral-health organizations educate dentists or physicians. The Dental Medical Convergence educates the public. The reasoning is practical: physicians today work in 15-minute appointment slots, dental hygienists have limited curriculum time, and patients themselves are the only constituency with the time and motivation to ask the right questions of their own providers. The gap closes faster when patients start the conversation.
Where can I see your financials?
The Dental Medical Convergence was incorporated in 2023. Our first complete annual report will be published at the close of fiscal year 2026. Until then, we share program-level summaries on request to ama@TheDentalMedicalConvergence.org.