Why a Healthy Mouth Is Good For Your Body

A healthy mouth is necessary to have good overall health of your body. Bad oral hygiene can lead to multiple oral problems that can diverge into more serious and severe diseases and infections that indirectly affect your other body organs. Maintaining healthy oral habits is important not just to have a pearly white smile and be confident when talking to other, but also because it prevents cavities and other oral problems. Taking care of your teeth and gums along with regular dental visits keep other infections away that may cause future problems affecting your body.

Prevent Ulcers

Plaque that builds up between the teeth leads to cavities and tooth decay. The bacteria called H. pylori in plaque release toxins that cause mouth ulcers. These mouth ulcers are also why stomach ulcers occur. Having ulcers in the inner walls of your stomach can lead to diarrhea, blood in the stool, vomiting, and many other illnesses. Hence, healthy oral habits must be followed to have good oral hygiene avoiding plaque formation in between your teeth.

Tips: Brush twice daily for 2 minutes. A quick hasty scrub twice a day won’t remove plaque or prevent tartar. Use a brush with soft bristles that fit into your mouth and reaches the back molars effortlessly. Rinse your mouth using an antiseptic mouthwash after meals to remove bacteria that cause plaque. Also, make sure that you floss daily.

Prevent Swollen Lymph Nodes

Lymph nodes located under the jaw and chin can swell due to an impacted tooth with deep cavities and gum disease. These oral infections can also cause tonsillitis which indirectly swells lymph nodes under the chin. An impacted molar tooth or wisdom tooth can cause the lymph nodes located behind the ears to swell too.

Tips: Our teeth have 5 visible surfaces that need to be cleaned on regularly. Even when you brush every day, we’re still only cleaning 3 of those surfaces! The remaining two surfaces can be cleaned by flossing daily. To prevent gum disease, avoid smoking or chewing tobacco. You can also use salt water to rinse your mouth. Salt naturally eradicates bacteria to soothe inflamed gums and also prevents bad breath.

Prevent Heart Disease

Periodontitis is the more advanced form of gum disease and is a major cause of tooth loss in young adults and children. The disease can be reversed in its early stages, but the damage caused if left untreated may be permanent. Periodontitis can be linked to many other severe infections and diseases in the body like heart disease and stroke. Periodontitis allows the bacteria and toxins to flow through the gum line from the blood vessels in the root canal to the main bloodstream. This flow of bacteria affects all vascular parts of the body. Severe periodontitis has more bacterial infection involved, which indirectly raises the flow of bacteria through blood vessels affecting the inner walls of the heart muscle.

Tips: Visit your dentist twice a year for general dentistry services and get an annual comprehensive periodontal evaluation (CPE). A CPE evaluates your teeth alignment, plaque level, gums, bite type, bone structure and other risk factors for periodontal disease.

Typically, the body’s natural defenses and good oral health care can keep oral bacteria under control. Visit your dentist and get informed about your oral health. Your dentist will examine your teeth and gums and perform general dentistry services like cleaning, cavity filling, etc. to maintain good oral health.