While it is common knowledge that taking care of your oral health is important for preventing issues such as cavities, gum disease, and more, you may not be aware of some of the many ways that oral health can impact your overall health and wellbeing. Good oral health can help to maintain your overall wellbeing, while poor oral health can put you at increased risk of health problems throughout your body. Let’s go ahead and cover some of the ways that oral health can impact your overall health:
1. Can Impact Risk of Diabetes
One of the ways that oral health can impact your overall health is by affecting your risk of developing diabetes. Poor oral health can often lead to gum disease, which results in higher blood glucose levels within the body, which can lead to an increased risk of diabetes. Additionally, those who develop diabetes are then at an increased risk of future gum disease.
2. Can Affect Heart Health
Poor oral health can also impact your heart, as gum disease and other infections introduce bacteria to the body. These bacteria make their way throughout the body, including into blood vessels, which can lead to inflammation and cell damage. When this occurs, it can elevate the risk of cardiac events such as heart attack or stroke. In order to protect your heart health, make sure to consider your oral health a priority and take the needed steps to promote good oral health.
3. Can Impact Pregnancy
Oral health is also important to consider in the context of pregnancy, as poor oral health is associated with a wide variety of issues during pregnancy, including premature birth, low birth weight, risk of infection, and more. In addition, teeth that are not healthy may become loose during pregnancy, making it necessary to get them removed. Good oral health is always important, but especially during pregnancy.
4. Can Affect Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Since poor oral health leads to increased amounts of bacteria in the body, it can also increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. When the body detects prevalent amounts of bacteria and certain enzymes, it produces antibodies that can also lead to severe inflammation in the joints. By practicing good oral health habits, you can help to minimize your risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
5. Can Impact Respiratory Health
Yet another of the ways that oral health can impact your overall health is that it can affect your likelihood of getting respiratory infections. Good oral health keeps the mouth relatively free of harmful bacteria, while poor oral health can allow bacteria to make their way from the mouth into the respiratory system. This can increase the risk of respiratory infections such as pneumonia, COPD, and more.
Now that you know more about some of the ways that oral health can impact your overall health, you can see why it is so important to take good care of your oral health for reasons beyond issues in the mouth, such as cavities or gum disease. You can support your oral health in a variety of ways, including by practicing good tooth brushing and flossing habits, visiting the dentist regularly, and taking a daily multivitamin to support your oral health needs or utilizing our Daily Flora Dental Probiotic.
