Oral Health and the Body:
How a Healthy Mouth
Affects Your Overall
Wellness
B L O G | S U N R I S E D E N T I S T R Y
https://sunrise-dentistry.com/
You know that old saying, “Put your
money where your mouth is?" In
dentistry, that isn’t just a saying.
There really is an oral and systemic
health connection. Most people, when
they go to the dentist, expect that they
are just there for cleanings, exams,
and other oral care.
This is not necessarily the case. Your
regular dental exams can also be a
screening for your overall health.
You might be saying, “What? How is
that possible?” or “How does oral
health impact general health?” It has
to do with systemic (meaning
affecting the whole body or multiple
organs — your entire “system,”
basically) issues of the body.
What this means is your mouth can
tell us about issues that may be
affecting other parts of your body.
Inflammation
Let’s take inflammation as an example.
When a dentist is examining you and
they see inflamed gums, they know it
could be an indicator of inflammation
somewhere else in the body.
Inflammation is an indicator that
something is not right somewhere.
You should know that chronic
inflammation in the body can
eventually lead to a variety of serious
issues, including heart disease,
cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, just
to name a few. There are many
inflammatory diseases that we
characterized by inflammation as a
primary symptom.
Some of these include Crohn’s
disease, inflammatory bowel disease,
asthma, hepatitis, celiac disease, and
autoimmune diseases such as
rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis,
Lyme disease, and lupus.
This is one of the reasons we take a
health history in our dental office.
Your health history can alert us to
medical conditions or medications
that can affect your dental health.
We covered the process of
inflamed gums moving into gum
disease in a recent video on
periodontal disease.
Remember that when periodontal
pockets become deeper, the
bacteria works its way deeper into
the gums, and this bacteria can
make its way into other parts of
the body and cause issues there.

This oral and systemic health
connection is yet another reason why it
is important to stay on top of your
dental care.
Poor dental health can cause issues in
other parts of the body, such as an
inflammatory response to inflammation
in your gums. Another big factor is how
our diet encourages or discourages
inflammation.
A healthy diet makes food nutrients
and vitamins available for our body to
function well and heal, but it also
discourages chronic inflammation,
which in turn makes us much less
susceptible to all of the above-
mentioned systemic diseases.
Remember, your dentist is trained to
recognize these signs, and as a holistic
office, we can also offer holistic
guidelines to help improve your
overall health.
Heart Disease
Here is another reason to take good
care of your oral health and the body:
Did you know that studies have shown
people who have periodontal disease
(also called gum disease and in the
early stage, gingivitis) are two to three
times as likely to develop coronary
artery disease. If a person has an
existing heart condition, periodontal
disease can aggravate it.
Researchers have studied the
possible link between gum disease
and heart problems.
So far, studies show that the
inflammation caused by gum disease
over a longer duration stresses the
body’s ability to maintain a healthy
balance. Atherosclerosis is an
inflammatory disease, and
inflammation is a major factor in
related health problems.
Atherosclerosis can lead to heart
attacks and stroke, and often, other
factors can also contribute to those
heart risks, such as smoking and poor
diet, especially when combined with
gum disease. It seems strange to think
that when we brush and floss
regularly, we are actually helping to
keep our heart healthier!
H.P.V. and Oral Cancer
Regular annual medical check-ups are
important to maintain our overall
health.
These check-ups can alert us to issues
that can become troublesome or
serious if we don’t make efforts to
modify what we can. There is at least
one strain of H.P.V. (Human Papilloma
Virus) that has been linked to oral
cancer.
H.P.V. can also lead to throat cancer,
and could be considered a silent
menace, as it exists with no
symptoms. If you or your loved ones
are diagnosed with H.P.V., it is a good
idea to pay close attention to
abnormalities in your mouth and be
certain an oral cancer screening is
occurring at least twice a year.
The types of abnormalities to pay
attention to are sores or lesions that
don’t go away within two weeks
anywhere in your mouth or on your
lips.
These could show up as patches that
are reddish or white in color. Also pay
attention for any lumps or growths.
Oral cancer can show up anywhere in
the mouth or throat.
Observe gums, cheeks, top, bottom,
and sides of the tongue, under the
tongue and the roof of the mouth.
If you want to see better, you can take a
flashlight and shine it in your
reflection in the mirror and down your
throat to look for abnormalities.
Difficulty swallowing, pain in the
ears, and swollen lymph nodes in the
neck are other possible indications of
cancer.
People who smoke or chew tobacco
and have H.P.V. are even more at risk
of oral and throat cancers. If you find
something that looks abnormal, you
should let your dentist know right
away.
Diabetes and Oral Health
It has been shown that diabetes and
periodontal disease are linked. People
with diabetes are at a much higher
risk of developing gum disease, so it is
important to always keep an eye on
oral health and the body.
This is possibly due to diabetics being
more prone to infections. Also, the
higher the A1c in an individual, the
greater the risk of developing
periodontitis. Diabetics are about 3
times more likely to develop gum
disease than non-diabetics.
This includes children and teenagers.
The National Institute of Health cites
from a controlled study that about
10% of diabetic children have gum
and bone loss separation. If it starts
this young, imagine how likely they
are to end up with bridges and
dentures at a very young age.
When it comes to children with
diabetes, parents should be hyper-
vigilant with the care of their
children’s teeth.
It is likely they may need to see a
dentist more often than twice a year
to monitor and mitigate the onset of
periodontal disease. Many people
associate gum disease with adults, not
with children. With diabetics
especially, this is not the case.
Improving the health of the gums can
actually aid in managing diabetes.
Managing your diabetes well can also
lead to healthier gums, so you can see
how closely they are linked, as is also
shown by higher levels of A1c being
related to your risk of gum disease.
For patients with diabetes, it is
important to stick to the instructions
of a medical care provider, but you
also want to take good care of the
teeth and see a dentist a minimum of
twice a year.
Dentists are trained to look at the
conditions of the teeth and gums and
may recommend that a patient get an
annual medical exam if their teeth
and gums indicate any underlying
issues.
Pregnancy and Oral Health
Another significant oral and systemic
health connection can be observed
among pregnant women.
There is an increased risk for
expectant mothers with gum disease
to give birth to underweight babies as
well as pre-term babies.
That being said: consistent, regular oral
healthcare should be included as part
of the prenatal regimen. Hormone
fluctuations during pregnancy make
women more at risk of developing
periodontal disease during pregnancy.
The CDC states that 65-70% of
pregnant women have gingivitis (the
early stage of periodontal disease).
Pregnant women are also at more risk
of developing cavities due to changes
in the way they eat.
After giving birth, the bacteria in the
mother’s mouth is passed on to the
baby’s mouth, causing an increased
risk of the child developing cavities in
those tiny teeth. So, continued regular
oral care and effort to move to a
healthier diet are beneficial to both the
mother AND the baby.
There is so much that is not fully
known about why some diseases are
more prevalent in the presence of gum
disease and vice versa.
Even with some missing pieces as to
the whys, we know that taking good
care of your oral health and the body is
the best strategy to support your
overall wellness.
dale@durangolive.net
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