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Oral Health

The link between oral health and overall health is becoming clearer as more research is done to find out how one affects the other. The health of a person‚’s mouth is often a good indication of the person‚’s overall health, and vice versa. Some diseases and conditions first show symptoms in the mouth. But poor oral hygiene and oral health can actually cause diseases that affect the entire body.

Oral Health and Heart Health

The medical community now believes the link between healthy teeth and gums and a healthy heart are so strong that heart patients are often required to have a complete dental exam and deep periodontal cleaning of the teeth before any kind of heart surgery.

When teeth and gums aren‚’t healthy, bacteria in the mouth has a way to get in the bloodstream. With gum infections or abscessed teeth, the bacteria and the toxins from the infection can spread to the bloodstream, which spreads them throughout the body. This can become a serious and even a fatal condition in severe cases.

But with gum problems that last long-term like untreated gingivitis , bacteria has an open door to be introduced all the time, and it‚’s believed that this constant possibility of exposure can wear on the body‚’s systems.

It‚’s particularly dangerous for those with cardiovascular problems or diabetes. Poor oral health in diabetics can leave them susceptible to infection, and diabetics have more trouble getting rid of infection than otherwise healthy people. Conversely, diabetics are more prone to tooth and mouth problems because of the disease.

Overall Health

When you have oral health issues like bleeding gums or gum infections, those bacteria are present in your mouth. Every time you swallow, you‚’re swallowing those bacteria and giving your body something to fight. That‚’s an extra thing for your immune system to take on, and it‚’s probably already busy trying to keep a gum infection from spreading to your bloodstream or causing cardiovascular problems. Poor mouth health simply wears at your overall health.

General dentistry aims to improve oral health with preventative and fixative dental work , while periodontal (gums) dentistry works to keep teeth clean below the gum line and prevent infections.

Another danger of infection is bone loss. When infection is present, it destroys the bone tissue that anchors the teeth in place letting them loosen. Once the infection is healed, the teeth remain loose, and food and bacteria can easily get back own into the gums and cause more infection, risking overall health once again. If the problem can‚’t be corrected, then tooth extraction may become necessary to keep the infection at bay.

Cosmetic Dentistry for Oral Health

Dental implants can replace the missing teeth, as can dentures or bridges , and these should be used for optimum oral health. These don‚’t just improve appearance; they prevent other teeth from drifting which makes them more susceptible to infection and loosening.

Braces and other cosmetic dentistry procedures used to straighten teeth also promote good oral health, by making the teeth more aligned and properly spaced so that they‚’re easier to keep clean.