In this transcript from Oasis Discussions, Dr. James Frizzell discusses the critical role dental professionals play in community mental health.

As healthcare providers, we often have “blind spots.” Dr. Frizzell emphasizes that identifying abuse, neglect, or mental health crises is a team effort. By empowering his staff—like his long-time assistant Kerry—to attend specialized seminars on physical abuse and mental illness, they have created a practice that looks at the whole patient, not just the clinical symptoms.

In a deep-dive interview, Dr. Frizzell discusses why he went beyond dentistry to learn suicide intervention and abuse identification. Whether it’s noticing signs of neglect or offering a listening ear to a patient in crisis, he’s proving that the dental office is a vital part of our social safety net.

Check out his full perspective on why every dental team needs to be trained in the “human” side of medicine. 🇨🇦