Maintaining a healthy mouth is more important than ever. Oral health is an indicator of overall health, and if you have problems with your teeth or gums, it could spread to other areas of your body.
How can oral health impact overall health?
Your mouth provides bacteria with a direct route to your digestive tract, respiratory system, and bloodstream. While not all bacteria are bad, if you have harmful bacteria in your mouth, it can travel easily through the rest of your body and cause disease. Not to mention, a build-up of bacteria in your mouth can cause tooth decay and gum disease.
If you have a good oral care routine that includes daily brushing and flossing, it’s easier to minimize bacteria and prevent infection in your mouth and throughout your body.
What types of health issues can result from poor oral health?
There are several common health conditions that can result from having poor oral health:
- Pneumonia. When bacteria enters your lungs from your mouth, it can cause respiratory problems, including pneumonia.
- Endocarditis. This occurs when certain bacteria infect the inner lining of the heart’s valves. Hidden infections greatly increase your risk of heart disease.
- Cardiovascular disease. Research suggests that inflammation and infections caused by poor oral health can lead to heart disease and stroke.
- Periodontitis. This particular health issue is connected to premature birth.
While mouth bacteria aren’t the only cause of these health issues, you can reduce your chances of becoming sick by maintaining strict oral health.
Six Tips To Maintain Good Oral Health
1. Consider dental implants.
Did you know that having missing teeth can cause your jawbone to deteriorate? You might not think bones need to be cared for, but they do. In fact, bones get stronger when they experience impact, which is why devices that imitate high-impact activities are used to rebuild bone density. Your jaw is impacted when you chew, and you need teeth to get the proper pressure.
Bones are living tissue made of vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Bones have an independent blood supply that allows them to grow, change, and repair themselves as needed. They are essential for maintaining structural support for the body, storing minerals, and generating blood cells. If you’re missing any teeth, consider getting implants to compensate for the lack of impact. Dental implants look natural and function like real teeth.
In addition to the health benefits, you’ll have an easier time chewing and biting into foods when you have permanent dental implants.
2. Limit the use of medication that reduces saliva.
With the exception of medication you need to stay alive reduce your reliance on medication that reduces saliva flow. For example, certain painkillers, decongestants, and diuretics can negatively impact saliva production. Saliva serves an important purpose in oral health. It washes away food and neutralizes the harmful acids created by bacteria.
3. Brush and floss daily.
While saliva will wash away some food particles, it won’t remove everything. It’s a good habit to brush after every meal, but if that’s too difficult, you should be brushing your teeth at least twice a day – in the morning when you first wake up, and at night before going to bed.
Flossing is also recommended after every meal because that’s when you’ll have food particles stuck between your teeth. Flossing dislodges food before it has a chance to rot and create bacteria right on your gums.
4. Reduce inflammation with coconut oil.
As an addition to your healthy mouth routine, you can use coconut oil to reduce inflammation and bacteria. It’s edible, but remember to spit out the coconut oil after you’ve swished because it will contain bacteria you don’t want to swallow.
5. Brush your tongue.
Many people forget to brush their tongue, or they just don’t know they should. When you brush your teeth, be sure to brush your tongue as well. Some people even use tongue scrapers, but be careful not to scrape too hard.
6. See a dentist regularly.
Last but not least, getting regular checkups and periodic cleanings is an important part of maintaining good oral health. Regular cleanings will keep your teeth and gums in top shape and make you less likely to collect plaque build-up on your teeth.
Your dentist will be able to spot the early signs of oral issues before they become a bigger problem, like cavities and gum disease.
Regular dental care supports your health.
Take care of your overall health by maintaining a healthy mouth. For optimal oral health, make sure you’re brushing, flossing, and getting proper dental care when needed.
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This content is made possible by Larry Alton.