How Dental Health Impacts Overall Health

Because your dentist is a specialist, it can be tempting to see your dental health as disconnected from your overall health. However, the two are certainly interrelated. Your oral health can have an impact on the rest of your body. In addition, when other parts of your body are suffering, symptoms can manifest in your mouth. This is why it’s so important to keep your mouth healthy through daily good oral hygiene and regular visits to your dentist.

Your Mouth is Just the Beginning

Your body is interconnected, with various systems interacting and impacting one another. For many of those systems, including the respiratory system and digestive system, the mouth is something of a starting point. The American Dental Association reminds us that issues with oral health can ultimately impact every other part of your body.  

Possible Health Issues

As we’ve talked about before, your mouth is full of bacteria. When you eat and drink, covering your teeth in gums in sugars and food particles, bacteria has a chance to breed and develop plaque and tartar. If left unchecked, this can lead to gum disease and oral infection. Build up of bacteria in your mouth has been linked to cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and other illnesses.

What Your Mouth Can Say

In addition to helping you keep your teeth free of plaque and tartar and helping you monitor your oral health, your dentist also can watch for signs or symptoms of other diseases in your mouth. With regular monitoring, they will be able to more quickly notice lesions or other changes in your mouth. Your dentist may perform an oral cancer screening and can generally monitor for any changes in your gums or mouth, which could be symptoms of other problems.  

How to Stay Well

Caring for your mouth, teeth, and gums is just one step in caring for your well-being overall. You should be brushing multiple times a day, flossing daily, and using mouthwash if needed. You should schedule regular, twice a year, check ups with your dentist and follow up with any additional appointments if concerns arise.

Keeping your mouth healthy can help you keep your whole body healthy. If you have any questions about your dental health and how it’s impacting your overall health, call and make an appointment or fill out our contact form.