What’s The Connection Between Oral Health and General Health?

Connection Between Oral Health and General Health

For decades scientists have been researching the connection between our oral health and our general health, and as it turns out, these two areas are tightly bonded. Not only that having good dental hygiene will lead to retaining your gums and teeth in good shape, but it will prevent you from facing some serious health conditions like having a heart attack, a stroke, preterm labour, or diabetes. Sounds serious? Well, it really is!

Mouth as an infection source

The absence of regular and thorough teeth brushing and flossing can cause plaque building up on your gumline, which can allow different bacteria to accumulate in the space between your teeth and gums. That can lead to infections like gingivitis, periodontitis, or trench mouth.

Now, normally, if you have a good immune system, your problems will end here, but if not, there is a possibility of those bacteria entering your bloodstream and causing much more serious health conditions. The infection can develop in some other part of your body, and you may end up with some sort of cardiovascular disease, giving birth before the term, or in a situation where you cannot control your diabetes.

Mouth as a window of your body condition

On the other hand, the state of your teeth will show what’s going on overall in your body. You can detect the symptoms and early signs of some systemic diseases like diabetes or AIDS by simply paying attention to what’s happening in your mouth. If something like that happens to you, and there are no other clues, the lesions in your mouth or the showcase of other oral problems will tell you there’s maybe a problem.

Of course, you should not jump into a conclusion and start panicking. If you find yourself worried, and you suspect there’s a reason for that, you should go to an emergency dentist in Brisbane where you will be offered with more information and a thorough oral check-up. 

Conclusion

The studies that are investigating the undeniable connection between oral and general health are still in progress, and they will bring us more and more information on this subject in the future. But it is certain that this bond exists, and that we should take really good care of our teeth. It’s not just a matter of hygiene.