Staying healthy is often much easier said than done. This is because it requires one to keep a close track of everything from their daily eating habits to the way that they handle bacteria. For instance, a lot of people fail to realize that proper dental health could be the difference between life and death. Instead, most people are not aware of the fact that there is a clear connection between how healthy someone’s mouth is and how healthy their overall body is. So, what are some of the ways in which dental health affects overall wellness?
Cardiovascular Disease
Failing to take proper care of one’s dental health is going to lead to gum inflammation. Additionally, it is the region where most bacteria finds its home. In the case of inflammation, however, people are putting their overall body at risk of becoming inflamed because this condition tends to travel. Additionally, overall inflammation is connected to a higher risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack. Of course, the odds of something like this happening are only high if someone’s dental hygiene is practically non-existent for a prolonged period of time. Nevertheless, failing to take care of the mouth could put a strain on the rest of the body and even push their heart to work harder.
Diabetes
As with the aforementioned, poor dental health and gum disease could eventually lead one to diabetes. The reason why this happens is that people who develop the periodontal disease have an infection that produces toxins. Subsequently, those toxins and bacteria will travel to cells across their body and slowly build more resistance to insulin. This will then lead to higher blood glucose levels that can cause a severe case of diabetes.
Lung-Based Conditions
According to Dr. Karl Jobst of Grove OK, having a condition like periodontal disease means that one’s mouth will constantly have bacteria in it. This could further complicate their overall wellness by causing lung issues. How? Well, whenever the person with poor mouth hygiene breathes in, they are opening their airways for all the toxins that live in their mouth. Thus, these particles will find their way to the patient’s lungs and may lead to anything from a simple case of pneumonia to a life-threatening lung infection.
Eating Habits
Dr. Karl Jobst of Grove OK further stresses the importance of proper dental health by relating it to someone’s diet. For instance, when a person has bad mouth health, it is very likely that they will have a lot of teeth in need of various care. This often leads to a severe toothache that makes it impossible for the patient to consume anything.
Thus, they are forced to skip meals and stick with liquid calories that can only be obtained via drinks. Obviously, this may cause the patient to lose a few pounds or reach a stage where their life is compromised due to a long-term inability to consume nutrients. Not to mention that they will have to overcome things like not having enough energy and going through constant mood changes due to the fact that they are starving themselves.
In other words, it is crucial to schedule an appointment with a dentist as soon as one realizes that there is something wrong with their dental health. Doing so could help prevent a series of other conditions that may take place down the road.
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