Dental care and overall health–What you need to know

Last week, I posted a review on the Sonicare Toothbrush. As a follow-up, I wanted to provide information on the health side of good dental health. I came across several posts about how poor dental health can affect your overall health. You may have seen information about how dental problems can affect more than your teeth. Many times, when I looked to see the source of the information, I see that the original author is someone who works for a toothpaste or toothbrush company. While I don’t think that their claims are false or overloaded, I wanted to see what other sites had to say.

This post is a brief collection of information that I have gathered from several sources. I hope that you find it informative and make you think more about how you take care of your mouth.

The Link to Other Diseases

One of the ways oral health affects is the fact that good dental health helps limit infections in the mouth. Think about all the bacteria that resides in the human mouth. Granted, it’s not all bad bacteria. But when we don’t brush and floss daily, we have a higher chance of gaining a wonderful problem called an infection. When our gums or cheeks are infected, the infection doesn’t necessarily stop there.

The Heart. In fact, there is a rare condition called endocarditis that stems from infections such as these. Endocarditis is an infection of the heart’s inner lining. It typically happens when an infection enters the bloodstream from another part of the body. This infection doesn’t necessarily have to start with the mouth, but it can. People who end up with this condition can be in pretty serious condition if left untreated. This is a very rare condition, but oral health helps lower the risk for that.

Clogged arteries and stroke are linked to some of the bacteria in our mouths. According to research, heart disease can be caused even by inflammations in our mouths. Chew on that! (Source: Mayo Clinic)

Birth Defects. The same Mayo Clinic article says that poor dental care can also affect pregnancies. Research shows that periodontitis, a nasty gum infection that can cause tooth loss, can lead to babies being born with low birth weight. It can also cause babies to be born early. This same condition is also linked to heart attack or stroke. According to WebMD, this is made even more complicated because of the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy.

Autoimmune diseases. Problems in the dental area can also affect or bring about autoimmune diseases. Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome both may have links to dental health. Sjogren’s causes a dry mouth sensation, so if not diagnosed, a person with it may not know that they have an autoimmune disease.

Others. There is a link between gum disease and diabetes. There are also links to head and neck cancers and eating disorders. Gum diseases can also weaken bones throughout the rest of the body (think osteoporosis). Other sources link lung conditions to oral health! According to Colgate, dental problems can also lead to dementia.

Yikes!

This is just a short list I brought together. There are more links between oral health and overall health out there, but I didn’t want to put too much here. Looking at the list of areas that oral health can affect, it is safe to say that the whole body can be affected by why we do or don’t do with our oral care. There are things we can do to prevent it. You may have heard these before:

• Brush and floss daily
• Use a quality toothbrush and toothpaste (preferably with fluoride)
• Get regular dental checkups. A great dental plan can help this.
• Eat healthy foods and don’t use tobacco

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https://simpleseniorhealth.com/dental-care-and-overall-health-what-you-need-to-knowhttps://simpleseniorhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/868469_63747375-1024x681.jpghttps://simpleseniorhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/868469_63747375-150x150.jpg2016-05-09T10:02:33-04:00RaphaelHealthy PracticesLast week, I posted a review on the Sonicare Toothbrush. As a follow-up, I wanted to provide information on the health side of good dental health. I came across several posts about how poor dental health can affect your overall health. You may have seen information about how dental...Raphael raphaelstarr@gmail.comAdministratorRaphael resides north of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is an independent insurance agent. He is also the worship leader at his church, a husband, and step-father of one awesome 15-year-old girl. You can contact him at raphael@simpleseniorhealth.com.Simple Senior Health