How Mouth Health Helps Overall Health
Did you know that a healthy mouth is good for more than just healthy teeth and gums? With regular dental check ups and most importantly, maintaining your own good habits, excellent overall health is within reach! Here are some of the ways that a healthy mouth can help the rest of your body!
1. A Healthy Mouth Leads to Clean Breath
How awkward would your social encounters be if you knew you had foul-smelling breath? Most people would become anxious and stressed out when talking to others in close quarters. This variety of social anxiety can usually be completely avoided by maintaining a healthy mouth.
2. Mouth Health Helps Overall Health Of Your Cardiovascular System
People with a healthy gums tend to have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. It is thought that the inflammation and bacteria that go along with diseased gums somehow lead to an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular problems.
3. Premature Births and Low Birth Weights Have Been Connected to Periodontitis
Periodontitis refers to gum disease where the gums are so severely infected that the teeth can become loose, and the teeth’s supporting structures are in a weakened state. Women with this condition are at an increased risk of premature births and low birth weights for their babies.
How Overall Health Can Help Mouth Health
There are also many medical conditions that can increase your odds of running into complications with your oral health. If you have any of the medical conditions listed below, it is important that you take extra good care of your teeth and gums.
1. Diabetes
People with diabetes are at an increased risk of gum infection because their bodies are not as capable of fighting off infections as those of 100% healthy people.
2. HIV/Aids
These serious conditions leave the body’s immune system in a severely weakened state. Similarly to those with diabetes, those with HIV and Aids are not as capable of fighting off gum infections as healthy people.
3. Osteoporosis
People with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and brittle. But many people don’t consider the impact of weakened bones on the ability of your body to retain teeth. In fact, there’s a possibility that osteoporosis is associated with an increased risk of periodontal disease and tooth loss.
4. Sjogren’s Syndrome
One of the common symptoms of Sjogren’s syndrome is dry mouth. Often, this dry mouth is so severe that it interferes with the body’s ability to use saliva to wash away the bacteria in our mouth that can harm our teeth. Aside from taking care to use impeccable oral hygiene practices, people suffering from this condition can use oral saliva substitutes, or chew gum to stimulate natural saliva production.
Remember How Mouth Health Affects Overall Health, and Vice Versa
Knowing the relationship between mouth health and overall health is an important component of maintaining the motivation to follow good oral hygiene practices that will keep your teeth and gums healthy. Keep these relationships in mind the next time you’re tempted to skip out on brushing, flossing, or regular dental appointments!
If you’ve any questions about your oral health and would like to speak to Reflections Dental staff or our dentists, please contact us today!
