Your mouth is a mirror to your body: A healthy mouth and a healthy body go hand in hand. It is important to understand the close relationship between oral health and general health – and the impact that one has on the other in order to know how to protect your mouth and body at all ages.
Oral Health is much more than a nice smile: A look into your mouth can reveal nutritional deficiencies, signs of other diseases, and unhealthy habits like tobacco or alcohol use – reflecting your general health and well-being.
Oral diseases take many shapes and forms, with the most common being tooth decay and gum disease. If not properly managed, they can negatively impact the rest of your body; which is why oral health is essential to general health and well-being at every stage of life.
General health conditions can also increase the risk of problems in the mouth. For example:
- Oral diseases are linked with diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, and some cancers
- Diabetes increases the risk of getting gum disease.
Poor oral health can be the result, as well as the cause, of poor general health.
Eat healthy: Consuming too much sugar from snacks, processed food, and soft drinks is a major risk factor for oral disease (mainly tooth decay), as well as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Excessive sugar consumption also causes serious dependence and promotes weight gain.
Don’t use tobacco: Using tobacco is unsafe and contributes to developing gum disease and oral cancer. Tobacco use also contributes to heart disease, respiratory disease, and other cancers, and is the leading cause of preventable death in the world.
Limit Alcohol use: Drinking too much alcohol is a major risk factor for more than 200 diseases, including oral diseases. Alone or in combination with tobacco, excessive alcohol increases the risks for cancers of the mouth, gum disease and tooth decay (due to acidity and high sugar contents).
Brush twice A Day: Having poor oral hygiene can lead to bacteria forming plaque in the mouth, and leaving the teeth and gums vulnerable to oral diseases and other diseases. Long-term gum infection can eventually result in tooth loss, but it can also impact the control of other diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Article source: FDI World Dental Federation
Photo credit: FDI World Dental Federation
Photo credit: FDI World Dental Federation