Have you visited your dentist lately? If not, you could be missing a large piece of the health puzzle. Just as diet and exercise are important, so is evaluating the condition of your teeth and gums. Your dentist can help you identify potential problems based on the health of your mouth. What’s more, the connection between overall health and oral health works in both direction. How?
Gum Disease and Your Heart
Research by the American Heart Association has shown a strong link between periodontal disease and heart disease. Gum disease is a bacterial infection that when left untreated, attacks the gums, connective tissues, and teeth roots. As it advances, the bacteria can enter the bloodstream, traveling throughout the body, and to the heart. The body’s natural inflammatory response to bacteria is thought to raise your risk for heart attack and stroke.
Gum Disease and Diabetes
For patients with diabetes, it’s imperative to visit the dentist at least every six months for a checkup and for some patients, maybe even more frequently. High blood sugar level affect the mouth, too, providing a sugary feast on which bacteria can thrive. Diabetes also lowers the body’s ability to fight infection, leaving your teeth and gums more susceptible to periodontal disease. If you’re one of the 24 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes, find a great dentist today!
Gum Disease and Women
Do women need different dental care than men? The answer is yes. Women are more likely than men to develop oral health problems. The culprit? Hormonal changes during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. There is a correlation between high hormone levels and gum inflammation, making it extremely important for women of all ages to visit their dentist regularly. Pregnant women have an especially good reason to maintain their oral health- gum disease has been linked to premature and low birth weight babies.
Gum Disease and Osteoporosis
Lost a tooth recently? It doesn’t have quite the charm of childhood and can really impact your quality of life. Tooth loss can be a sign of jawbone loss, and may signal the onset of osteoporosis. Patients with osteoporosis are more than three times likely to lose teeth than those whose bone density is normal. Tooth loss can also become a vicious cycle that wreaks havoc on your oral health. Lost teeth that aren’t replaced leave gaps where bacteria grab hold and flourish. Gum disease can lead to additional tooth loss and jawbone loss, and then you can see the domino affect begin.
Smoking and Your Oral Health
Are you a smoker? Don’t try to hide it. Your dentist can tell. Just as you are at risk for a long, unsavory list of general health problems, you’re at risk for many oral health issues. A whopping 41.3% of smokers over 65 are completely toothless. Smokers also develop more hardened plaque on their teeth along with deeper pockets between the teeth and gums providing the perfect breeding ground for disease-causing bacteria. And do we really have to talk about oral cancer? Tobacco users, be warned, oral problems aren’t just associated with cigarettes. Chewing tobacco, or smoking pipes or cigars, is just as detrimental to your health. Your best shot at a healthy mouth and healthy life? Stop now. End of story.
More and more clinical research comes to light supporting what dentist have said for years. There is a powerful mouth-body connection that shouldn’t be ignored. As a matter of fact, by detecting dental problems, your dentist could help save our life. So make that appointment and open wide!
Dental emergencies almost never strike when it’s convenient. Instead, they happen while you’re rushing through breakfast in the morning, or enjoying a little backyard football. So, ask yourself this question—do you know what to do when you have a dental emergency?
