How Dental Health Affects Overall Health

In this episode, we would like to talk about dental health. Many people don’t know that dental health provides valuable information on someone’s overall health.

Today we know that most chronic illnesses are not down to coincidence, bad luck, or bad genes. Instead, they are the result of constant, silent inflammation in the body and the resulting chronic stress. This kind of inflammation often occurs in the mouth.

It can be found hiding in the tips of inflamed tooth roots, gingival pockets, around implants, in dead teeth, or in the cavities that are left behind whenever a tooth has to be removed.

Although research is constantly revealing new relationships between teeth and the body, doctors and dentists work in two different spheres, our medical care system is structured such that we can’t see the forest for the trees.

Importance of Dental Health

Looking inside someone’s mouth gives clues to their overall health. Did you know that many problems can stem from poor oral health? Good oral health gives a person the ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow, and impacts facial expressions to show feelings and emotions.

Just like in other parts of the body, the mouth houses a lot of beneficial bacteria. But remember that the mouth is the initial entry point into the rest of your body and sometimes these bacteria make a home elsewhere where they can cause damage.  Proper oral hygiene keeps these bacteria in stable conditions.

What Contributes to Poor Dental Health

Untreated tooth decay. More than 1 in 4 (26%) adults in the United States have untreated tooth decay. Gum disease. Nearly half (46%) of all adults aged 30 years or older show signs of gum disease; severe gum disease affects about 9% of adults [1].

The main factors that cause oral health are:

• Poor hygiene
• Diet high in sugar
  • Sugar changes the acidity in your mouth.
    • There are 2 bacteria, streptococcus mutants, and streptococcus sobrinus. These bacteria feed on sugar and create plaque on your teeth. When you get your teeth cleaned your dentist removes this plaque. If left unchecked this plaque will eat away at your enamel.
    • Sugar also attracts bacteria that eat away at your gums and cause gingivitis and gum disease [2].
• Alcohol use
  • Alcohol drinks are usually high in sugar like beer, liquor, and mixed drinks. This leads to the breakdown of enamel, long-term tooth decay, and gum disease.
  • Alcohol also decreases the amount of natural saliva that acts as a natural antibacterial agent. 
  • Depending on what alcohol you consume it can stain your teeth. 
  • Normal Saliva PH: 6.2-7.6
• Smoking 
  • Smoking weakens your body’s infection fighters (your immune system). This makes it harder to fight off a gum infection. Once you have gum damage, smoking also makes it harder for your gums to heal.
    • You have twice the risk for gum disease compared with a nonsmoker.
    • The more cigarettes you smoke, the greater your risk for gum disease.
    • The longer you smoke, the greater your risk for gum disease.
    • Treatments for gum disease may not work as well for people who smoke.

Prevention

• Proper oral hygiene
• A well-balanced diet low in free sugars and high in fruit and vegetables, and water as the main drink;
• Stopping the use of all forms of tobacco, including chewing
• Reducing alcohol consumption
• encouraging the use of protective equipment when doing sports.

What Conditions are Linked to Oral Health

Your oral health might contribute to various diseases and conditions, including:

Endocarditis

This infection of the inner lining of your heart chambers or valves (endocardium) typically occurs when bacteria or other germs from another part of your body, such as your mouth, spread through your bloodstream and attach to certain areas in your heart.

• The study looked at 94 participants where participant’s portal hygiene, gingivitis, and periodontitis statuses were evaluated. 
• The authors found that oral hygiene and gingival disease indexes were associated significantly with IE-related bacteremia after toothbrushing.
• Participants with a mean plaque and calculus scores of 2 or greater were at a 3.78- and 4.43-fold increased risk of developing bacteremia, respectively.
• The presence of generalized bleeding after toothbrushing was associated with an almost eightfold increase in the risk of developing bacteremia [3]. 

Cardiovascular Disease

 Although the connection is not fully understood, some research suggests that heart disease, clogged arteries, and stroke might be linked to the inflammation and infections that oral bacteria can cause.

There are a few theories on why this can occur, according to Harvard: 

• The bacteria that infect the gums and cause gingivitis and periodontitis also travel to blood vessels elsewhere in the body where they cause blood vessel inflammation and damage; tiny blood clots, heart attack, and stroke may follow.
• Supporting this idea is the finding of remnants of oral bacteria within atherosclerotic blood vessels far from the mouth.
• Rather than bacteria causing the problem, it’s the body’s immune response – inflammation – that sets off a cascade of vascular damage throughout the body, including the heart and brain.
• There may be no direct connection between gum disease and cardiovascular disease; the reason they may occur together is that there is a 3rd factor (such as smoking) that’s a risk factor for both conditions.
• Other potential “confounders” include poor access to healthcare and lack of exercise – perhaps people without health insurance or who don’t take good care of their overall health are more likely to have poor oral health and heart disease [4].

Pregnancy and birth complications

Periodontitis has been linked to premature birth and low birth weight.

• Nearly 60 to 75% of pregnant women have gingivitis, an early stage of periodontal disease that occurs when the gums become red and swollen from inflammation that may be aggravated by changing hormones during pregnancy.
• If gingivitis is not treated, the bone that supports the teeth can be lost, and the gums can become infected. Teeth with little bone support can become loose and may eventually have to be extracted.
• Periodontitis has also been associated with poor pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth and low birth weight. However, how periodontitis may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes is not yet fully understood [5].
• One systematic review looked at periodontal status looked at 22 totaling about 17,00 subjects and concluded that “The present systematic review reported a low but existing association between periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes.” [6].

Pneumonia

Certain bacteria in your mouth can be pulled into your lungs, causing pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.

• A study looked at over 122,000 participants with no history of pneumonia with a median age of 52.4.
• The mean systolic blood pressure and fasting glucose were 125.5 mmHg and 96.7 mg/dL. While 49.6% of participants had periodontal disease, 2.7% and 6.0% had five or more dental caries and missing teeth, respectively. 
• According to the self-reported questionnaires, 45.0% of participants brushed their teeth three times or more per day, and 26.0% replied having professional dental cleaning at least once per year.

It concluded that:

The risk of pneumonia was higher in groups with more dental caries and missing teeth. In contrast, the risk of pneumonia was lower in the frequent tooth brushing group and the regular professional dental cleaning group. 

• There was no significant difference in the risk of pneumonia between groups with and without periodontal disease. 
• A number of dental caries and missing teeth, and the frequency of tooth brushing and professional dental cleaning, were associated with the incidence of pneumonia. 
• The risk of pneumonia was significantly higher in the group with a higher number of dental caries and the group with more missing teeth. 
• Risks of pneumonia decreased significantly in the frequent tooth brushing group and the regular professional dental cleaning group [7].

Fluoride: Is it the best means of fighting tooth decay?

Fluoride is considered an essential part of dental care. Almost all toothpaste contains it. Roughly 73.0% of the U.S. population with public water access in 2018 received water fortified with fluoride. In Germany, however, no fluoride is added to drinking water—and yet rates of tooth decay have dropped.

Fluoride can store and lock calcium and other minerals in tooth enamel, which sounds like a beautiful, helpful attribute. But just like many things, it also comes with unwanted side effects.

There are ongoing studies linking fluoride to chromosomal changes, bone cancer, and impairments to intelligence, while many other studies declare its innocence of these allegations.

The concept of holistic dentistry is based on avoiding overburdening the body with artificial substances as far as possible. If we eat well and get all the nutrients we need, there is no need for additional fluoride. Saliva’s job is to store minerals in teeth. That is its natural function, and it does not require extra fluoride to get the job done.

Tough Foods Make You Tougher 

Chewing food is easier to digest. But did you know that adequately chewing our food can protect us from infections? Researchers recently discovered this when they took a closer look at what is known as Th17 cells in our mouths.

These cells are part of the immune system and can ward off harmful bacteria to our health while leaving friendly bacteria in peace.

Furthermore, Th17 cells form in the mouth, so the more we chew, the more cells are produced. In addition to this, eating foods with a more rigid consistency, or simply chewing well, ensures a better immune defense in the mouth.

Good Dental Hygiene Practices

Taking care of your oral health may take a lot of effort. However, if you add them to your daily routine and practice them daily, it will not feel like a chore but more of a natural habit. Here’s how you can practice good dental hygiene:

1. Brush your teeth twice a day
2. Use mouthwash daily
3. Floss daily
4. Drink more water
5. Eat more crunch fruits and vegetables
6. See your dentist twice a year

Watch the full episode on this by clicking here:

TIME STAMPS:

0:00 Introduction
1:00 Sponsor Ads
2:15 Cup of Nurses Introduction
4:04 Episode Introduction
6:36 Importance of Dental Health
10:44 Statistics About Gum Disease
13:28 What Contributes To Poor Dental Health
13:39 Sugar changes the acidity in your mouth!
15:42 How Alcohol Affects Dental Health
18:08 How Smoking Affects Dental Health
21:59 How to Prevent Poor Dental Health
22:45 Conditions Linked to Bad Oral Health: Endocarditis
23:23 Study About People with Endocarditis
25:13 Conditions Linked to Bad Oral Health: Cardiovascular Disease
28:24 Conditions Linked to Bad Oral Health: Pregnancy & Birth Complications
31:51 Conditions Linked to Bad Oral Health: Pneumonia
37:36 Fluoride: The best means of fighting tooth decay?
44:13 Tough Foods Make You Tougher