Good oral health means more than a mouth full of pearly white teeth and fresh breath. Your mouth is a complex system that you rely on for a number of everyday functions, from talking to enjoying a meal and greeting someone. However, if you do not take care of your mouth it can have a significant impact on the quality of your life. Your mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body.
Whatever is in the mouth enters the blood system including the decay-causing bacteria. There have been many types of research in the relationship between oral health and its effects on the body and whatever we ingest results in a healthy body or unhealthy one. The mouth mirrors the condition of the whole body often serving as a helpful vantage point for detecting the early signs and symptoms of diseases that affect the entire body and if you do not take good care of your mouth it can cause some serious diseases and even tooth loss.
Here are some ways oral health affects overall health.
- Cardiovascular Health
Gum inflammation may increase the risk of heart disease and stroke this is because gum diseases increase the inflammation throughout the body leading to cardiovascular diseases. According to researchers, people with periodontal diseases are at greater risk of heart diseases and have twice the risk of having a fatal heart attack.
- Diabetes
While it’s known that people with diabetes are more prone to gum diseases, surprising new studies suggest that serious gum disease may actually contribute to diabetes as it affects blood glucose control. When you do not take good care of your mouth it leads to periodontal disease which is an infection and the bacteria present produce toxins that affects the carbohydrate metabolism in individual cells.
- Lung Infection
People with gum disease have more bacteria breeding in their mouths and more likely to be inhaled leading to lung infections such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis. For people who are already suffering from lung problems, gum disease may make it worse.
- Pregnancy
Pregnant women with progressive gum diseases are more likely to develop gestational diabetes, deliver pre-term or have low birth weight baby. Also, women with gum diseases take an average of seven months to conceive, compared to five months among females without gum disease.
- Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)
In most cases teeth grinding is mild, but when it is frequent and severe it can aggravate the joints in your lower jaw known as temporomandibular joints (TMJs). This leads to pain or tightness in the joint area and even cause headaches and earaches. This bad habit can wear down enamel causing increased sensitivity and resulting in chipped or broken teeth.
- Tongue Health
The surface of the tongue can harbour a lot of bacteria and these trapped germs can lead to bad odour and affect your sense of taste. These bacteria can travel to other parts of the mouth and the body leading to severe gum diseases and other infections. Overgrowth of bacteria can turn your tongue yellow, white or even black. So, ensure that you clean your tongue every time you brush your teeth.
These are some of the ways oral health can affect overall health.
So what can be done?
Practicing good oral health is important in maintaining a healthy mouth, teeth and gums and paying a regular visit to the dentist’s office will help you do so. Good dental health enhances your appearance as well as the quality of life. Your dental health team consists of you and dental health professionals who work together to prevent many dental problems. Your dental health professionals include a dentist, dental hygienist, dental technician and other dental specialists.
Additionally, diseased, crooked, missing or misaligned teeth can interfere with your speech and make chewing food difficult and painful. Not taking proper care of your oral health can also lead to cavities and discoloration of the teeth. Cosmetic dentistry can help you out in this area. Your dentist along with the dental technician who has undergone extensive dental technician training will build up a treatment plan that will provide you best results. Cosmetic dentistry has its own health benefits that further enhance the health of your whole body. It corrects numerous aesthetic flaws, relieves a headache due to misaligned teeth, improves appetite, reduces the risk of dental problems and gives a youthful appearance and moreover, it motivates you to better care for your teeth and gums.
Registered dental technicians who have completed their diploma of dental technology work along with the dentists in providing better oral health to patients and fabricate the dentures, braces and other dental appliance to help the patients get relief from their teeth deformities.
Thanks to modern dental technology now it is easier than ever to treat all the dental conditions. The technology has empowered dentists, dental technicians and other dental specialists to carry out the dental treatments with ease and less cost involved.
So in the end, this all means that you should take care of your oral health by brushing twice a day and flossing once and visiting your dentist every six months to keep the whole body healthy.
