The Hairy Chin Substack has arrived!

PCOS was just renamed PMOS. Dental hygienist turned integrative health coach Christine Horton joins Spencer to unpack the name change and the oral-systemic health link that not many people are talking about.

In May 2026, PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) was officially renamed PMOS (Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome) in The Lancet, after 14 years of research into a condition affecting one in eight women, 70 percent of whom go undiagnosed. Spencer and Christine, founder of Fusion Health Coaching, break down what the new name actually means for diagnosis, funding, and care.

Then they go somewhere most PCOS conversations don't: the mouth. Christine's background is in dentistry, and she explains oral systemic health, the relationship between gum inflammation and A1C. It runs both ways: treating inflammation in the mouth can lower A1C, and lowering A1C can improve oral health. For women with PCOS or PMOS, who run higher baseline inflammation and higher rates of insulin resistance, this is a piece of the puzzle most doctors and dentists still aren't connecting.

[00:53] PCOS Diagnosis Story: How Christine Found Out at 16

[09:21] PCOS Renamed PMOS: What Changed and Why

[14:41] PCOS Symptoms and Statistics: 1 in 8 Women, 70% Undiagnosed

[19:51] AI vs. the Doctor-Patient Relationship in PCOS Care

[32:17] Metabolically Diverse: Reframing PCOS, Insulin Resistance, and Weight

[36:44] PCOS Awareness Association and PCOS Awareness Month (Sept 26)

[40:14] Oral Systemic Health: The Dentistry and A1C Connection

[52:08] Where to Find Christine Horton, Fusion Health Coaching

About Christine Horton:

Christine Horton is a dental hygienist and certified health coach, and the founder of Fusion Health Coaching, where she blends medical, dental, and lifestyle expertise to work with women navigating PMOS/PCOS, insulin resistance, and metabolic health. She also works with the PCOS Awareness Association, co-hosting their monthly support group and supporting their annual conference.

• Website: fusionhealthcoach.com
• Instagram: @pcosglowhygienist
• PCOS Awareness Association: pcosaa.org
• PCOS Awareness Month virtual conference: pcoscon.org

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• Spencer Moore on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: The Hairy Chin does not provide medical advice. All content is for informational purposes only. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personal medical concerns.

Speaker 1

Welcome to the Hairy Chin Podcast. I'm so happy that you're back here with us today. I'm interviewing Christine Horton Welcome to the podcast

Speaker 2

Christine Thank you. I'm excited to be here Spencer.

Speaker 1

I'm so excited for you to be here We're talking about PCOS today PMOS we will talk about that name change in just a minute and I have to say that this is such a special episode for me and meeting you was just really serendipitous because this podcast started Because of the chin hairs that I found when I was 18 years old Actually, somebody found them for me and that was quite mortifying for me I've really been waiting to do an episode on PCOS and We found each other and I just felt like this was really meant to be

Speaker 2

yeah So happy to talk about it all all the things it's big in the news right now So it's great timing too. And yeah, let's dive in.

Speaker 1

Let's dive in as I mentioned I a friend of mine found my first chin hair when I was 18 and you also had Symptoms when you were younger and your teens and I would love to know what that looked like for you How how did this kind of unfold for you knowing that something was off with your body early in your life?

Speaker 2

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. So when I was a teenager, I was quite athletic. I played a lot of sports and I never got my period that was kind of the red flag I was 16 and I still hadn't had my period and so it was like, ooh, we better get this checked out I'm from a very small town in Canada originally and by chance we had a new doctor in town just at a school and that's who I ended up seeing and

Speaker 2

He did he had an ultrasound done just to see if there was anything that would be seen there and right there the Typical ultrasound that that pearl that string of pearls around there and so he was like, this is what you have and You probably aren't gonna be able to have children But if and when you want to come back and we'll we'll see what we can do basically And that was the whole conversation. So I was young enough. I didn't have a whole bunch of symptoms I just had this one kind of glaring one and It kind of just rolled from there

Speaker 2

so I felt

Speaker 2

Good that I knew what it was, but also there was no information because this is decades ago, right? So at that time we really just thought it was like can I have children and I always wanted to have kids But as 17 you're not like actively planning and thinking how that's gonna happen Right because I wasn't even with my husband my future husband any of that It was pretty alarming and pretty heavy, you know, I I wouldn't recommend Does that be the way or the message that you get? Yeah

Speaker 2

And that's one of the thing that drives me because as I talk to women There's many women that that's still what they get. There's not a lot of Here's what you can do. Here's what we can do. This is how we're gonna manage it This might be something that comes up in the future. It really is as abrupt as Yeah, you probably aren't gonna be able to have kids and you know, they might throw on a let's put you on birth control now or You know something similar like that so that was part of the reason that you will need wanting to help other women because I've had this for many many many years let's say decades now right and I did have my own journey with infertility and It all kind of came to an head my PCOS PMOS journey when I was perimenopause because That is a crazy time in any woman's life But if you take a woman who has a pre-existing Hormonal metabolic condition and then you throw that hormone chaos into it

Speaker 2

It was so so crazy So when that was happening for me, I was looking into other things like what can I do because to me? Education is power. I want to know all the things so I can make the right decision for my body and my life and you know all of those things and what I found was so eye opening and I just felt like no other woman had heard about all these different things And so I was like I need I need to get this information out and that's how my company was born fusion health coaching So that's right long story.

Speaker 1

Yeah No,

Speaker 1

it's the perfect story because it's your story and it's the way that it's unfolded You know you say that you became the advocate that that you always needed and I find that I see this and hear this a lot and I I find that advocates tend to be filling a Space that that was not there for them And so then they fight to share information and to really get get awareness out there in the world You know when I was in my early 20s, I had an ultrasound and I remember so clearly the technician said Wow, you have some wampy ovaries and I thought like wampy Not like it was just such a strange word and it's always stuck with me that word and Honestly, I think a podcast called the wampy ovary would be would be a great name for a podcast another podcast about PCOS But it was just and and I remember that time I think I was 22 and the doctor said After all my ultrasound said like you were gonna really struggle with with getting pregnant and if you want to get pregnant You should do it now and I was thinking like that is not in my plan right now That's not gonna happen. And you know, I never I I don't have children my husband. I don't have plans I have children so I didn't pursue you know pregnancy and I didn't I don't know if I would have had infertility Issues, but I do think that there's this real emotional toll that it can take on women Especially young women who are diagnosed with this condition because it does show up. I had very irregular periods as a teenager I mean just so strange and and I was just told the only way to fix this is To take birth control. And so I was put on birth control I need very young age to regulate my cycle and all of that is just a lot for a teenage girl and And then on top of it adding this pressure that's there's already a societal pressure But then adding this pressure that there is literally a ticking clock It's it's a clock saying like you have to have them now or you'll never have them I think that's really unfair And I love that there is more compassion now around this condition and understanding that women do have many more options Because it's hard

Speaker 2

Absolutely it is and I want women to know that yes that can be part of your story But one doesn't equal the other just because you are diagnosed with PMOS or PCOS Doesn't mean you're gonna have infertility issues However, it is a leading cause of an ovulation or not ovulating So it's not even a hundred percent accurate that you are gonna have troubles You know, there is definitely an increased risk, but I don't want women to be fearful Because there are tests they can do there are other things that they could look at if you didn't want to have kids at whatever Age you're at But you did want that as part of your life There are tests they can do to kind of help you make that decision or look at your individual case And I think that's a much better message than you have this you aren't able to have kids

Speaker 1

Right, right and you know what what has changed a lot for me is that you know for for about 20 years Probably I was dealing with this and and I love that you've mentioned going through perimenopause and honestly I believe we could do a whole other episode of just talking about this entering perimenopause And I'd be really interested in that because I am around the age where symptoms are starting to come of perimenopause in my early 40s and my body's going to a haywire and you know I don't don't discount that there's a lot of things that were already existing in my body and now you throw in all of this hormone You know hormone changes and like you said metabolic disorders So there's a lot that happens there, but just even before that when I was younger, I mean there were acne You know, it wasn't just about the ovaries. I had quite severe cystic acne I had really severe and irregular periods. I had cysts that would burst which are incredibly painful There was a lot that went on and that's part of why the name has been changed is because it's not just about the ovaries And this has been really trending lately. It's been all over the news PSOS is now PMOS and I would love for you to talk about what those two you know Initial stand for and talk about kind of how how that new name came about

Speaker 2

For sure. Absolutely So let's start with PCOS because that's what it was recognized with for years and years and years and PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome so when we say that it just sounds like multipoly cysts on the ovaries and Syndrome syndrome kind of means it can look different ways for different people So when you hear that it very much says this is an ovary condition which leads to that fertility conversation or some issue with administration that sort of stuff Which is true. That is a part of it. But with that name being so specific it very limited Who was going to do research? What kind of funds they could get because it looks like it's just for a very short period of time in a woman's life and Most don't think having children is mandatory, right? It's kind of like a hopefully you can but if you can't like you'll survive there you you can adopt You cannot have kids like there's other options, right? So what they did is over 14 years they interviewed many women with PCOS

Speaker 2

Speaker 2

Studies that are specific for women with this because a lot of what we see right now is like well this works for you know type 2 diabetic patients or Insulin resistance patients So we're assuming when you have PMOS and you have insulin resistance It'll work the same way and there's nothing to believe that these things won't but now there's that opportunity to really get some research That is specific with PMOS PCOS women For these studies to get real data real treatment, you know, not off-brand again So

Speaker 1

You know That would be you know androgen and I believe that's a type of testosterone is that

Speaker 2

right Yeah, yeah They kind of say them interchangeably and they test different ones and it depends which doctor you have and what they specifically are testing But yeah androgen testosterone

Speaker 1

testosterone and so, you know higher testosterone levels can increase in can increase hair growth on your body So you can get it on your chin You can get it on your stomach. Sometimes There are a lot of different places that women that have these higher testosterone levels for example women with PMOS and that can cause these side effects that you have and so Like you said, everybody has different symptoms. They can present differently for every person, but I do think that when you look at this more as this kind of Hormonal metabolic syndrome you really do start to get more specific about how women can be treated because for me one of the biggest Challenges in my health journey has been that health is so specialized these days and I think there's a whole road that has led us to the specialization and a lot of it in balls insurance and Billing codes and all these different things But it's really challenging because look if you have hair growth on your face and you don't know That that could be a side effect of a metabolic condition or a hormone imbalance or something like that Then maybe you'll go to a dermatologist or maybe you'll go and get laser hair removal because you think that's just kind of what you need to do And I do believe that this is connecting the dots for a lot of women It's opening up this conversation. Like you said, the funding is amazing and it's kind of consolidating how women can get health care And and be treated faster. Yes.

Speaker 2

Yes, and We have and this is one of the things that drives me this big gap So let's talk numbers even though numbers kind of so I won't go too far into numbers But I want women to know that this condition is very common One in eight women have it so millions and millions and millions of women have it. We're not talking about like

Speaker 2

0.002 of the population like a lot of women have it but 70% are undiagnosed Wow, and that's what we want to change my work with the PCOS Awareness Association That's what we want to change because if you don't know what you have How are you gonna know how to get help for it? Right and our bodies whisper and if we don't listen to whispers They're gonna get louder and then we end up with a major crisis So just like you're talking about the excess of hair growth There's other symptoms as well. And so if you don't mind I was just gonna list a couple of them just so if we have any listeners that are like, oh I have that one Maybe I should you know check cuz that's that's what we want to kind of do so like you were talking that Hormonal acne so often it's on the lower face and it's not kind of surface acne It's usually like deeper kind of painful acne

Speaker 2

Then we have hair loss on your head Not like a hair here and there I'm talking like, you know, you brush your hair and it's like, oh my gosh It's a noticeable amount and often it's not like in chunks It's more like a generalized kind of thinning on the on the crown or the top of the head That would be another symptom irregular periods longer than 35 days between cycles or Less than eight periods a month or it per me a year Would be another thing Weight gain that you can't really explain, you know, you haven't changed a lot of things But you're you know, keep going up five pounds ten pounds, whatever

Speaker 2

When we talk insulin resistance sometimes which it can be other things and it could be just insulin resistance but this is really common with PMOS, so we're talking about large amounts of skin tags or Dark velvety patches in the creases of their body So like their knees their elbows armpits neck is kind of like a dark velvety patch That can be a sign of insulin resistance, which then can be a sign of PMS So there's so many But I want women to kind of know that there's like this whole gamut So they don't just think that if they do or don't have this one symptom then they do or don't have PMOS or PCOS

Speaker 2

But if you hear any of those and you're like, oh, I yeah and oh, yeah Maybe that please see your health care professional and have a screening done so you can have answers because When we talk about this being a whole body condition We have higher risks for so many really important things So when you are diagnosed with PMOS or PCOS you have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease Stroke and heart attack you have a higher risk of insulin resistance diabetes higher risk of sleep apnea Higher risk of you know, we could just go on and on so it's not just about do I have PMOS? It's If I have it, how can I manage my symptoms so that I don't have all these other things, you know Because it it's life-changing right if you have a heart attack at 42

Speaker 2

It's a big deal.

Speaker 1

It's a big deal. And and yeah, you know, I mean Some of the things that you were mentioning like for skin tags I just learned in the past year that they can be connected to insulin resistance I never knew that before but there's a real real big correlation now and you know for me I did I have had fluctuations in my weight all of my life and I've been a really active person I was really big into sports growing up used to be a really big runner but one of the areas where I just really could not lose weight is my stomach and There is this phrase that I used to hear called PCOS belly Where a lot of women really do hold and that's also common with insulin resistance, which we've talked about obviously are linked together as well And you know, then we start talking about Cortisol and fat in the and you know extra fat in the stomach area, which is you know where your organs are and that's a really

Speaker 1

You know that can lead to complications in time if you really do carry a lot of weight in the belly And then we're talking about heart disease and things like that You know, I feel like it's important to see that all of these things are connected I'm such a proponent of the doctor patient relationship and fostering that relationship

Speaker 1

And I really believe AI is an amazing tool And I'll talk more about AI in my in my season this year But I do think it is it is creating a real distrust that's going even further from the patient and the doctor because now a lot of people are going online to read about things instead of going to their Doctor and say this is what's happening and fostering that Do you feel that a lot of patients are coming in kind of with their own AI research?

Speaker 2

Well, I think it is and I think it's nice in some ways, but it's not all always accurate Like I'll take PMOS for example, right? I put it in probably two weeks after it was officially renamed and It wasn't even recognized. It didn't even know what it was now if I said PCOS renamed PMOS then it shot out like oh as of this date the Lancet published blah blah blah So there's gaps in that kind of stuff. So yes, you can get information But it's not always the whole picture and nothing's Individualized and when you talk about whole body health There is a whole picture that has to look at everything and if you look a lot of social media AI that kind of stuff and it you know, what's my eating plan, what's my Exercise plan what's my blah blah blah it will give you stuff But it's not always accurate. In fact, sometimes it can backfire because it doesn't know you have high inflammation It doesn't know that you have high insulin and our insulin resistance, so

Speaker 2

Yes, there's information but it's not the end all be all you still need people that can can frame that for you

Speaker 2

and to help you Interpret what it's saying. So yes get some information educate yourself Just know that it's not always a hundred percent accurate And I think most people have used AI have found that because if it's in your area of expertise, you're like fact-check it I thought Dada done that'd be like, oh, sorry Blah blah blah blah and then it like it cracks itself or it goes deeper in and explains why it thought this way But now it sees what you're trying to say. I think they've all had that experience.

Speaker 1

I agree I agree. I did I actually I did have the chat GBD written down somewhere in my notes because even until recently I'll say not not maybe a few weeks ago I put in PMOS and it said I don't know what PMOS says Maybe you're talking about this or that and I said no I'm talking about the new name of PCOS and and I think it even said Perhaps it said it wasn't renamed and then I said no it was in May and it said, oh, you're right. I'm sorry You're correct. So yeah. Yeah, you have to fight a bit with this information I think that there's a lot we have to learn about how to find a balance moving forward with Technology, but at the end of the day I really do believe that the healthcare equation is the patient and the doctor that equals healthcare And no matter how much you want to rely on AI, you know, you will inevitably have to be in front of a physician

Speaker 1

And you will need physical healthcare and learning how to foster those relationships for me I think is just the number one the the number one thing we can do to advocate for ourselves Yes, because it's just it's a human thing and it will you know I hate to say will always be human thing because I have no idea where technology is going. It's kind of terrifying But for now and for the near future it is a very much it is only a human thing Yeah,

Speaker 2

and AI can't order labs for you. Do you know what I mean? So you need somebody who can do that and the thing about AI is if we want to look at let's say diet For example, right like what you should be eating you can get the perfect plan The problem isn't with getting the plan. It's with the implementation of it, right? So that's why like when I work with clients We're not looking at perfect plans we're looking at your messy life and where you want to make some changes and how we could make that happen because right

Speaker 2

if It was that easy None of us would need any of this right because we could just get from whoever right a dietitian Nutritionist who ever get a perfect eating plan and then we'd never have to worry about it again But we don't follow it because that's not how human behavior is and that's where is a big gap Between like what our doctor tells us and what we're trying to do every day And I feel like that's where health coaching really comes in Because we can take what your doctor said look at what your goals are Collaborate to see how we can make that happen in your life and then make it all work Because your doctor isn't meant to and doesn't have the time to check in with you regularly to see how you're doing on your journey Of you know making changes in your diet because your ultimate goal is to you know decrease your weight or to you know Improve your blood pressure or whatever your personal goal is right? Sure. So these are all things that health coaching can really

Speaker 2

Hope with that gap between appointments.

Speaker 1

I love that you say that and I think that I believe that that's very very true the problem I find from speaking with women and from seeing information online is that it's it is a challenge to find a trusted source of a health coach because I do see that You know, there's the wellness industry is monetizing so much on these gaps in our modern health care systems and You know, you're talking a lot about things being individualized and I think we're going in the opposite direction some some people are going the opposite direction of group coaching and supplements that are for everybody and kind of

Speaker 1

You know trying to make it as efficient as possible to help as many people as possible But you know, it's kind of like in marketing We say if you speak to everybody you speak to nobody when you're talking about kind of creating campaigns And I believe that's true for health care. Is that you know, if somebody is saying this is going to help everybody It's probably not going to help many people That's just not how our bodies are made and I love the idea. I'm such a proponent of Individualized care and you're right doctors these days don't have the time and there's a lot of anger for From patients and I think especially female patients because of the gaps in the system and we all know We've heard it a thousand times now that the system was not built for our bodies

Speaker 1

And you know, there's a lot of mistrust and Disappointment and grief in that and and you know Finding trusted health care coaches like yourself is Is what it's all about and getting the awareness out that there are coaches like you that are looking at the individual

Speaker 2

Yeah, absolutely and you do have to know who you're dealing with. What's their education? What's their background because there are health coaching Certifications that are a weekend long, right? That's not what you're looking for and who are they helping even if they have a million followers on tick-tock

Speaker 2

Is what they're saying? Correct, right? You need to know because like you were just talking about if you're helping everybody Especially if you're promoting a product that you make right that yes, it might be a really great product But also, you know, there's that now there's some who are like these are my favorites These are things that I like to use personally I think that's different than I made this and it's gonna help everybody so by this, you know, like there's that different thing so From a marketing point of view You can see the difference between those and I think those are things that if you're looking for someone to work with You want to see are they specialized in what you're looking for or do they have the knowledge? What's their education? And have a conversation everybody that you potentially want to work with especially if you're paying them Should have a free session To see if you're a match because I know myself if we're not a match We're not gonna be able to achieve what you're trying to do But I know a lot of great other practitioners That I'm happy to give you a referral that maybe you then would be a match with them because that is so critical Especially when we're looking at a disease like PMOS or PCOS that's lifelong Right because when you're just given a plan that you're supposed to follow is that plan gonna work 10 years down the road, right? Probably not what you want is you want the education so that you know how to make decisions So when things change in your life, you can do it So for example, if we're looking at sugar, right a lot of people don't even know how much sugar would be a normal amount, right? Right that can be a game changer if you have insulin resistance and all of a sudden you learn about sugar and how much would A normal amount and then you look at how much you're having right and then 10 years down the road You still know how much is recommended and where you can or can't because there's some foods that just have so much added sugar That you don't even think of

Speaker 2

I just did a support group when we were talking about this is kind of like a Q&A kind of thing and like BBQ sauce some of the barbecue sauces have like a day's worth of It's true

Speaker 1

sugar in them I'm a big ketchup fan and I know ketchup is just like a bunch of sugar.

Speaker 2

It's such a bunch of different kinds and some do and Some don't but you know, it's those types of things because yeah, of course if you have a dessert, you know You're probably gonna think yeah that has a lot of sugar But is anybody thinking about you know the sauce on their ribs like probably not so, you know That's just an example of things that that you kind of want to look at and when we're talking PCOS or PMOS weren't higher risks of anxiety and depression and Mental health things so we need to be aware how that all plays in too, right? So it's just so big

Speaker 1

Yeah, and I totally agree and I you know, I I I have dealt with mental health struggles since I was a teenager I was I was diagnosed a major depressive disorder at 16 and you know There's a lot that goes on with the physical and the mental health to me. It's like a yin and yang and they both very much affect each other and You know for example, you can tell somebody you need to lose weight or you need to eat less sugar Or you need to do certain things make certain lifestyle changes But if they're not in a good mental space, it can be very hard to make those types of changes You know, we're also talking about neurodivergence now and changing schedules and doing different things This is really really challenging and it makes help very very layered it

Speaker 2

absolutely is and that's Where a lot of coaching comes in because we got a look at those things, right? It's not as simple as just I'm gonna do this Right because we have had that message and we do feel guilty and we're torn a million different Ways right like yes, we gotta take care of the kids. We have a significant other we have aging parents We have a career and so it's like all these different directions and you kind of just blink and five years have gone by and you Haven't had a doctor's appointment yourself and you made to the dentist once but you had to cancel because he had a sick kid that Day and like I get all of that But it is so critical because if you don't take care of you You can't at some point take care of all those other things because I always say the body Whispers, but if we don't listen It's gonna get louder and eventually it's gonna end up in crisis and then there's no chance that we can ignore You know if you have that Cardiac event or you know, whatever it is

Speaker 2

That is just going to make you pay attention because there's no way around it Hospitalized you're you know having all these specialists and we want to look when there's these little things that we can do So that we don't end up in that place The other thing I really loved about what you said when you were talking about neurodiverse That is so important and I really want women to think just like we're giving special attention and know that People who are neurodiverse might learn in a different way and they might need information in a different way and they might do things In a different way. I really flipped that with the women I work with that have insulin resistance And I want them to think that they're metabolically diverse their body Works differently. It isn't the same as someone who doesn't have that factor So a lot of the information that's out there on social media or is telling you do this and then you'll lose all the belly fat Do that and then you never have to worry about your weight again

Speaker 2

They're talking about people who are quote-unquote normal But if you are metabolically diverse, it's not the same information because your body works differently It doesn't work the same way And so I really want women to know that because it's really important and it can take a lot of the frustration off of you you know, there's a lot of guilt with a lot of women with PMOS or PCOS about weight and

Speaker 2

It is a challenge because that often they are metabolically diverse Their body works differently. And so you have to address that before you can look at other things Otherwise you're chasing the wrong thing and I think we can both acknowledge that there's a really high risk of disordered eating and women in general eating disorders But when you throw in something like PMOS or PCOS that does affect your body size potentially It is a higher risk for all those things as well and so That's really really important information that Women know so you don't fall into that or if you do know that there's help and that that's something you need help with Don't just shove that under the rug.

Speaker 1

I love that you say that and that you've brought that up because You know for me Having kind of a lifetime of one thing that has led to another and another I've kind of

Speaker 1

I've seen how the snowball effect happens and you know I'm not sure it's talked enough about with female led disease and kind of these syndromes Because first you're just fighting to get the diagnosis and then you're trying to figure out what can help and you're seeing all these different specialists that aren't connected and you know, you talk about the weight and then you talk about the History, you know a higher incident of eating disorders. So then you go to a doctor They say well, you need to lose weight and you need to eat better. So let's send you to a nutritionist Well, then you go to the nutritionist and they say well, you need to stick to this diet plan And you can no longer eat these foods. You can only eat these foods well for a woman who has a history of an eating disorder that is incredibly triggering and Going on elimination diets if you have all this inflammation, they say you can no longer have dairy or Gluten or sugar and then you say but I don't do well with restrictive diets that that's not a good treatment plan for me and so then finding somebody that is you know informed and aware of How to help you when you do have these layered histories because this becomes a web It's just it's not just I have this I have this and I have that and these are how I treat them. It is a web of Experiences and traumas and things that you've gone through and relationships that you have and how they've affected you. It's so much And I just love that you bring up that it's it's so much more than just the name of the diagnosis and then the treatment plan

Speaker 2

Yes, and it's not meant to be fixed in a 15-minute appointment every six months

Speaker 2

Speaker 2

All know what you're talking about and deal with some of the same things that you do

Speaker 1

That's fantastic. And do you by chance know the day of that summit?

Speaker 2

Pardon me. Yes, it is September 26th. It's the day. Yeah, perfect. Yes. Yeah, absolutely and there's one thread that kind of weaves everything together and that is Inflammation in the body and women with PMOS or PCOS Naturally have a higher level of inflammation And so that is one of the challenges to figure out why You have it and what we can do to lower that because when you lower the inflammation in a body It can better do all the things you want it to your hormones are more responsive

Speaker 2

Your body can focus on other things, you know if insulin resistance is a part of your story You know it can work more efficiently with that. And so I am huge on women knowing what they can do to Decrease it and then because I'm in the dental world to write dental is my background let let's see if you have inflammation in your mouth because chances are pretty good that you have some level of inflammation coming from your mouth and That's the things we want to look at because if they're sources of inflammation it can help all these other things, right? so for example, if you have a high a1c Which is what they test every three months if you have pre-diabetes Diabetes insulin resistance because that's kind of what they're monitoring

Speaker 2

And let's say you have some inflammation in the mouth

Speaker 2

if we change either one of those They bi-directionally change the other so if you are diagnosed with an oral disease and you get treatment for it It can actually lower your a1c Yeah, if your a1c is lowered because you've made some lifestyle changes. You've made some different decisions Maybe you've added some more movement into your life, whatever it is, but you've made those changes We can see positive things happening in the oral cavity as well So this isn't just about the mouth or just isn't about Insulin resistance or metabolic disease. There's these overlaps that we can make a change in one area And it positively affects other areas. You just need to know it can work the other way, too so if you know our disease is progressing in the mouth or a1c is creeping up It can negatively affect each other as well

Speaker 2

There's this whole study between the mouth and the body and it's called oral systemic health or mouth-body connection and It is very Correlated between what's happening in the mouth and heart health what's happening in the mouth and metabolic health or insulin resistance Or type 2 diabetes. So there's just all these things When you're having your mouth looked at it's not just your mouth You're also helping all these other systems in the body, you

Speaker 1

know for me having advanced gum disease in my 40s It really made me feel like I didn't take good enough care of my mouth and my body. It made me feel really Insecure to go to the dentist and open my mouth and think they're gonna think that I just don't take care of myself And you know, I think that's the case for a lot of honestly a lot of female led disease, you know You have PCOS and you carry more weight in your stomach and it really does feel like you're failing your body and your health And yes, that is something that I think is really important for the patient to address But also for the practitioner to address and understand this this is a very layered

Speaker 2

Conversation there's no shame when we there should be no shame When we have disease and sometimes I feel like social media

Speaker 2

Makes it sound that like well if you just did this then you can reverse it and you no longer have this right or If you would have done this then, you know, whatever but like what you're talking about when you're diagnosed as a teenager What could have all went wrong that you were doing so wrong? so These are the types of things that I want to take stigma away from and as a healthcare professional let's Open the conversation because someone like you're describing for yourself When you already have all these autoimmune things and these different things happening that is a foundation already That's going to put you at risk, right? And those are things that you want to know and there's so many exciting things happening in the dental and medical world but in the dental world saliva testing is becoming a big thing and What I love about that is that it tells us information so it's as simple as either they take a swab or you spit into a little tube and Then they test for what bacteria is in there because certain bacteria at certain levels are causing damage in the gums Or other parts of the body So if we know that then we can do things to change those levels of bacteria in the mouth So that they don't do damage to other areas. So it's very

Speaker 2

Interesting it's still evolving because in dentistry for a long time It was kill the bacteria get rid of all of it We don't want any damage if we just kill it all then we're good. What we've learned is The easiest bacteria to kill are the really good ones And so you don't want to kill all the good ones and then leave the ones that are really hard to treat That that's how you like super infections happen, right? So what you want to do is you want to have a balance you want to have a healthy we call it oral Microbiome, but if we talk about your gut for example, right? There's lots of people that are all interested in trying to get their um Microbiome all balanced and doing all the things it needs to do and I guess that brings up a red flag for me that if you Are dealing with gut issues? Make sure you have someone looking at your mouth because that is the start of the digestive tract and If you are doing everything for your gut, but you haven't had anybody look at that It could be a real game changer for you

Speaker 1

You know in the past decade a few decades It's become so obvious now that our gut health is very important and is is you know can play a very big role in Mental health and and how our bodies function and how our immune systems function that they are in the stomach in the gut And you know now there are all these microbiome tests like you mentioned and you know, I think that there's a wellness industry That is is definitely profiting on these new Advances of what we're learning about about our bodies And you know all these gut tests. I mean, I don't think science even knows what a healthy microbiome looks like right now for Every specific individual because my understanding is that your microbiome is like a fingerprint. It's it's specific to your body And so kind of having this, you know control and saying like this is what it's supposed to look like I'm not sure in my opinion that that's really fair and these tests are very expensive and You know, I think for me at least the more informed I've become about my health more disillusioned. I've become of it in seeing the type of care that I need and Realizing what it takes to get access to that care Because a lot of care is still very very heavily privatized you pay out of pocket. It is expensive Medications all of these things Testing that is outside of insurance gut biome test things like that. It really does start to add up And you know, I we've talked about the body being connected but perhaps but I also wonder kind of whose job Is it to connect all of these dots? Who do you then go to where you know This is where I think we mentioned the word gaps earlier and this is where I think there's so many gaps Is that there are a lot of places that we can get information and that we can then share information with other practitioners and medical Professionals, but we just don't know how And I would love for you to kind of go down that where you know where we can connect these dots Yeah, if we're not being informed

Speaker 2

For sure, I think there's a couple things and what you said and I love that

Speaker 2

You did point out that it's all connected and it is, you know If I think a lot of dental providers are saying things But we're just so used to hearing it and we're not thinking it as inflammation If you go in and they're like, yep, you have no cavities, but we need you to floss a little more They're saying you have inflammation. Yeah that you need to floss a little more, but they don't put the inflammation party in right? Sure. If you have any sensitive gums bleeding gums Areas that you're like I can do everywhere but here but I can't go back here because it's really what it's or or swollen or whatever those are all inflammation signs and We don't want that we want you to have a healthy mouth and a healthy body

Speaker 1

And I love that you say that because I do think that there are kind of codes that the medical professional The the medical professionals use that they kind of understand what they mean but as patients we don't write or we don't pick up on them and You know, I'm a big why person. I'm a really curious person. I love knowing why So I think that always works well in the medical world is to somebody you're recommended to do something or they tell you you need To take change your lifestyle, you know something why? Please tell me why explain to me what that does why it matters I think why is just the best question. I love it.

Speaker 2

I I Totally totally agree with you a hundred percent and I want women to know especially women with PMOS or PCOS They have that higher inflammation we kind of touched on in in We kind of touched on insulin resistance being a part of a lot of women's story Just again to put in numbers so people know like it's 70 to 80 percent depending what you're reading So it's a lot of women. It's not like it's 2% of women that have PMOS or PCOS have an Insulin resistance. It's the majority

Speaker 2

So the thing that I want to connect is the mouth with this Metabolic stuff because I think it illustrates like how important this could be and what a game changer it can be Now as far as the gap it is real for sure. There's Ways that you can educate yourself if you are interested in it while we wait for everybody to catch up But know any provider that you have you need to have a relationship with them You are essentially hiring them So if it's not the right fit, even if you've been there for 10 years and yes, it's inconvenient to find somebody new You need to find people that are on your team that are willing to listen that are willing to If they don't know about it be like oh I'll take a look at this because like for myself a lot of my education comes from a little more or tell you a little More but I know as a hygienist I was very excited when someone will come in my chair and be like hey I read this or I saw this or I heard about this Is this true like is inflammation in the mouth have anything to do with anything else? I mean, that's all I needed to hear and I was like, yes Let's talk, you know and then I can tie it into like this is what I'm seeing in your mouth And if we do this like it could be resolved in this amount of time and you know all those kinds of things So please do have those conversations with your medical and dental providers There's all kinds of continuing education across the world on this and how it can really be a factor and someday I hope that we have these multi teams that do automatically combined

Speaker 2

These professionals and we're seeing

Speaker 1

that that's fantastic Tell me just tell us just a little bit more about where the listeners can find you

Speaker 1

And a little bit about your business and kind of I know you've mentioned the PCO PCOS awareness Association I would love for you to mention your website and where they can find you

Speaker 2

Yeah for sure so my business is fusion health coaching the fusions being the medical dental and lifestyle Blend and so it's fusion health coach calm on social media. You'll find me PMOS PCOS glow hygienist and I am pretty much everywhere

Speaker 2

On social media My inbox is always open. I have a couple quizzes on my website if you want some stuff I do want women to know that although I I have you know a heart for women dealing with PMOS and PCOS I do work with women who do not have the condition so you don't have to have the condition As we've talked about today There's so many layers to this that sometimes women just have insulin resistance or just have type 2 diabetes And they still want help so I Work with women in all different areas of life And I would love to have a conversation I always like I said a health coach should have a free session so we can see if we're a match See if I can help you with what you are looking to do or make changes in your life So yeah by all means hop on my calendar if you'd love to have a conversation

Speaker 1

I love that and all of these links will be in the show notes of the episode And so yeah, it'll be really easy to find you and all of your very valuable Offerings and expertise and I just I'm so happy that we've connected like I said at the beginning You know I just I hadn't done an episode about this I knew it would be coming at some point and the stars just really aligned to bring us together I think this was the the perfect time to do it and with the perfect person. So thank you.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Well, thank you I am so happy to be here and glad to have the conversation and I know what I do There's others doing it, but not many have that dental part. So I do not gatekeep I'm more than willing to share information as I think that's how we further both medical and dental knowledge and I just really want to serve women and Let them be empowered and make their own choices about their health. I love it