Brushing, flossing, and seeing your dentist regularly are essential steps for healthy teeth, but the importance of good oral hygiene goes far beyond that. The fact that your dentist and your doctor are different people doesn’t mean your oral and systemic health are separate; on the contrary, the health of your mouth and the rest of your body are closely linked. Chronic conditions, infections, and inflammation in your mouth will cause systemic illnesses, and vice versa. Similar to your intestine, your mouth contains a large number of commensal bacteria, most of which are harmless, providing that the conditions in your mouth remain without much change that favors the overgrowth of harmful bacteria; this is known as the oral microbiome. Any disruption of your oral microbiome will be reflected on your overall health, especially the health of your gut.

What are some systemic illnesses linked to oral disease?

Your mouth is the gateway for the rest of your body, both literally and figuratively. Research has confirmed that claim by linking multiple systemic diseases to oral health. A few examples of those are:

  • Cardiovascular diseases: Keeping your teeth clean and your mouth healthy plays a major role in maintaining the health of your heart and blood vessels. When you have overgrowth of dental bacteria, some of them can reach the bloodstream through small cuts in your gums when you brush or undergo dental procedures like tooth extraction, these bacteria that reach your blood can cause infection in your heart, known asinfective endocarditis, they can also cause more insidious problems by triggering inflammation in your blood vessels and contributing to the buildup of plaque in your arteries, AKAatherosclerosis, which can lead tocoronary artery disease, stroke, and more. Diabetes: The fact that diabetes makes oral conditions like gingivitis, which is a mild form of infection of the gums, and periodontal disease, a condition where severe infections of the gums reach the underlying bone and cause bone and tooth loss, more likely has been considered common sense for a long time among medical and dental communities, but evidence now suggests the opposite is also true; thechronic inflammation resulting from periodontitis impairs insulin sensitivity, contributing to the origin of type 2 diabetes. Gastrointestinal health problems: There exists a very strong connection between the microbiome in your gut and the one in your mouth, since oral bacteria reach your intestine constantly with swallowed saliva, so if you have an unhealthy environment in your mouth, the harmful oral bacteria will reach your gut, disrupting its microbiome and causinggut dysbiosis,which compromises your gut barrier. The resultingleaky gutwill contribute to various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions like, Ulcerative colitis Crohn’s disease Celiac disease Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety
  • Lung diseases:Inhaling harmful bacteria from diseased gums can cause infections in your lungs like pneumonia; repeated infections will cause permanent structural changes in your lungs, contributing to some obstructive lung diseases.
  • Alzheimer’s: Dominy et al. (2019) found oral bacteria and their toxins in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, and upon using specific inhibitors of these toxins, they observed a marked reduction in disease markers like bacterial load, amyloid-beta production, and neuroinflammation.
  • Pregnancy complications: Bacteria entering the bloodstream in pregnant females with poor oral hygiene cause inflammation and can trigger preterm labor and other pregnancy complications like: Fetal growth restriction. Pre-eclampsia Miscarriage Stillbirth.

What can you do to prevent all these diseases from happening?

There are a few things you can do right now to control the health of your mouth and improve your overall health:

  1. Avoid risk factors that worsen your oral health, like: A poor diet filled with sugars Cigarette smoking Too much alcohol
  2. Adopt good practices that promote the health of your teeth and gums; these include: Brush your teeth twice every day Floss: Flossing removes food particles and plaque between your teeth, preventing gum disease, cavities, and bad breath. Ditch fluoride-based dental products and replace them with the better, more natural nHA-based ones.
  3. Visit your dentist at least every six months.

Oral health matters.

Keeping good oral hygiene and healthy teeth doesn’t only ensure a beautiful smile; it also plays a significant role in maintaining the health of the rest of your body. The health of your heart, gut, and even brain starts in your mouth. Having a healthy mouth will reduce the risk of chronic diseases and help control them, highlighting the need to have a holistic approach when dealing with medical conditions. Your dentist and your doctor should be working together so you get the best possible health outcomes.