What does my health got to do with my teeth?

Do you ever wonder why when as part of my general exam I ask questions about your general health?  These questions regarding diabetes, heart disease or other health issues help me gain a better understanding of your health and possible implications of your dental health on your wellbeing.

In recent years, studies have shown that poor oral health can put your overall health at risk to many disease diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and prostate cancer are a few possible one.  Your mouth, like many other parts of the body, is home to many bacteria. These bacteria can be kept under control with daily brushing and flossing. But without oral hygiene bacteria build up and react with sugar and starch in our food to form acids and toxins that decay teeth and infect your gums.  Over time the gum disease and inflammation eats away at the gum and bone that holds the teeth in place. After the bacteria establish themselves in our gums they gain access to the blood vessels and from there to the whole body. Which leads to the findings that, up to 91% of patients with heart disease have advanced gum disease. Moreover people with gum disease are two times as likely to die from a heart attack and three times as likely to have a stroke! 

The way the gum disease causing bacteria lead to heart attack and stroke is by creating and inflammation in the blood vessels causing them to become blocked, restricting the flow of oxygen and key nutrients to vital organs.  For diabetics poor oral care makes it harder to control blood sugars and if the blood sugars are not controlled the gum disease is harder to manage which creates a vicious cycle.

In addition to these diseases, gum disease has been linked to premature birth and low birth weight osteoporosis, weak and brittle bones and common respiratory ailments such as pneumonia and emphysema.

The key to a healthy mouth and thus healthy body is to understand that there is a link between what is happening in your mouth and the rest of your body and this is why I ask you about your general health. Those who have predisposing conditions like diabetes, heart disease or a family history of these conditions may need to have more frequent examinations or different treatment.

If it has been 6 months or more since your last dental exam and clean, you are concerned about your dental health or experiencing bleeding gums , contact Dr. Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006, for a professional examination.