This is something we’ve actually covered a few times over the last few years. Your oral health and it’s relevance to your general health. So what’s the answer?
In short – of course your oral health will impact your general health because it’s part of your body. For example, gum disease (periodontal disease) is inflammation and it can affect the rest of your body in many ways.
Here’s some other things about Gum Disease that you may not know…
- Gum Disease can create complications with Diabetes (diabetes.co.uk)
- Your mouth (if you don’t have a great oral routine) can be a great hiding place for the bacteria associated with stomach ulcers. (Medical News Today)
- Oral Bacteria is also associated with arthritis (Arthritis Foundation)
- Gum Disease has been linked to cardiovascular disease. (Harvard Medical School)
What other indicators of oral health point towards general health and why?
Let’s look at what you eat. If you’re someone who drinks fizzy sodas, who eats chocolates and high fat foods, this will of course be bad for your teeth, but it will also be bad for your heart, your liver and your cholesterol levels. So you could argue that if you are what you eat and your teeth aren’t looking great, your body isn’t probably in the best shape either.
Smoking. Obviously not good for your health at all, but it’s also really bad for your teeth. It has been shown to be a contributory factor in gum disease. And again, if it’s not doing your teeth any good, you don’t need much of an imagination to work out what it may be doing to your body.
In short, anything that goes in your mouth, proceeds through your body so if you’re eating badly, smoking or not brushing then you are risking potential issues with your general health.
