At Tufts University, dental students are taught to refer medically compromised patients to other health-care practitioners. According to registered dietitian Carole Palmer, EdD, RD, LDN, division head of nutrition and oral health promotion at Tufts, dentists should refer to RDs “when they see that there are issues that warrant further care: diabetes with an indication of poor glucose control, hypertension or obesity. Any underlying health condition needs a referral to a physician or dietitian.”