Your Oral Health Impacts Your Overall Health
We are often told to brush and floss twice a day or after every meal. The connection between oral health and your overall health is not apparent to most people. Taking care of your mouth have a much broader impact than just a shiny smile. When your teeth don’t hurt, you eat better, you have more self-esteem, and you feel good overall. Taking care of your smile improves the health of your overall health. If you start neglecting the care of your teeth, it can lead to serious health issues.
Our mouth is an incubator for healthy and harmful germs
Heart disease
When we don’t routinely brush and floss our teeth, this can cause plaque to buildup on our teeth. Eventually, plaque buildup can lead to tooth decay, cause gingivitis, or worse periodontal disease. If gingivitis goes untreated, the bleeding gums can become infected by bacteria. This can lead to a heart condition called endocarditis. Endocarditis is an infection of the inner lining of the heart chambers.
Diabetes management
Gum disease can also complicate the management of diabetes. People with uncontrolled diabetes tend to get periodontitis more often than the average person. The reason why gum disease is worst in people who have diabetes is that they have a greater inflammatory response to bacteria. Regularly visiting the dentist for a check-up, cleaning, and treatment can help you manage your diabetes.
Oral cancer
Your dentist is the first line of defense against oral cancer. A dentist will often examine your mouth every six months if you regularly visit your dentist for check-ups. The American Dental Association recommends that you should get two annual check-ups so that your dentist can screen for tooth decay and gum disease. Many dentists will also screen for oral cancer during your check-up. Oral cancer can develop anywhere around the mouth, tongue, cheeks, and gums. Early detection of oral cancer can significantly improve treatment.
Prolong tooth infections lead to hospitalization
A severe tooth abscess can lead to hospitalization or even death if left untreated. When the tooth abscess is left untreated, the body works much harder to try to fight off the infection. If the bacteria start to spread beyond the abscessed tooth and gets into the bloodstream, this can lead to a condition called sepsis. This is the body’s approach to fight the infection, except that the immune response is so aggressive and toxic.
If you are having dental issue or pain, you should consider visiting your dentist before it becomes a significant health problem. Please contact California Dental Group at (800) 407-0161 to schedule your next appointment.
