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Dental Consultation GuideGeneral DentistryGeneral Medicine

Bridge between Dental & Overall Health

Dental & Overall Health

Can your dental or oral health affect your overall well being? Well to state it simply, YES. Dental health is essential to overall health and well-being at every stage of life. Good oral and dental hygiene helps to prevent tooth decay, gum disease and bad breath. In contrast to this, poor oral hygiene increases the risk of systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, low birth weight, bacterial pneumonia, diabetes, thyroid, AIDS, blood disorders. These diseases can lower the body resistance to infection making periodontal diseases more severe. 

Poor Oral Health and bacteria

Bacteria in the mouth causes infection in other parts of the body. Poor oral health can lead to risk for heart and gum diseases. Inflamed gums causes periodontal diseases wherein the bacteria can get into the arteries causing the arteries to dental health build up plaque and harden. This can lead to heart attacks, stroke, poorly controlled diabetes and pre-term labour. Poor or fair oral hygiene can develop an oral infection with human papilloma virus which can eventually lead to cancer. 

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Dental and oral health is an essential part of your overall health and well-being. Maintaining healthy teeth and gums is a lifelong commitment.

Role of Dental and Overall Health

Oral health is one of the important aspects for the overall well being of a person. Poor oral health is common in parkinsons patient. Symptoms include increased prevalence of gingivitis, dental caries, periodontal diseases, xerostomia, orofacial pain, burning mouth syndrome. Dental hygiene is important to keep diseases at bay.

Diabetes and gum disease affect one another. Gum diseases intensify because the complications associated with diabetes by increasing blood sugar level. People with diabetes face greater risks of developing oral infections and gum diseases than to those who dont diabetes. Tooth decay, dry mouth, gum disease, fungal infections, lesions in the mouth, taste impairment, infection and delayed healing, some common oral health problems associated with diabetes. 

Thyroid and oral health

Common oral findings in hypothyroidism include the characteristics of enlarged tongue, delayed tooth eruption, poor periodontal health, altered tooth morphology and delayed wound healing. Oral manifestations of hyperthyroidism include: susceptibility to caries, periodontal disease, enlargement of extra glandular thyroid tissue which is mainly in lateral posterior tongue, maxillary or mandibular osteoporosis, accelerated dental eruptions and burning mouth syndrome. 

If your blood reports show an increase or decrease in the thyroid hormone levels one should notify their dentist before undergoing any dental treatment.

Other common symptom of anaemia is paleness in the gums which take on a faded or even whiter shades of normal colour. This skin color like, can also affect tongue, and mucous membrane inside the mouth. Effect of anaemia on oral tissues include pain in tongue, paleness of tongue, swollen tongue or glossitis. Poor dental hygiene may also increase the risk of oral cancer. 

Cigarette smoking reduces the favourable outcomes of periodontal therapy

It is recommended that smoking patients should be following a successful smoking cessation program before the surgical procedures are implemented. In patients with Parkinsons; it is difficult to maintain oral hygiene due to factors such as motor impairment, apathy, depression and dementia. Due to this the food which, not cleaned properly which in turn provides nutrition for bacteria leading to decay.

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There is a direct relation between Dental & Overall Health

Conclusion

Dental Pain in Pregnancy causes several hormonal changes in a women’s body. There is direct link between pregnancy and effect on periodontal disease and vice-versa. Read more about visiting dentist during pregnancy.

It is important to keep your dentist up to date on your health and medications. A dentist has the skill and the expertise not only to treat oral health diseases but to help with all oral health needs. Dental procedures involving bleeding of the gums require healthy blood clotting for recovery. Conditions such as liver disease and medications such as aspirin  may affect the ability of blood to clot normally. 

Emerging medical problems detected by the dentist. For example onset of bleeding of gums begins gum disease which could be related to adult onset diabetes!

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1 Comment

  1. Dental health is essential to overall health and well-being at every stage of life. Good oral and dental hygiene helps to prevent tooth decay, gum disease and bad breath.

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