While your smile can light up a room, it is about far more than aesthetics. A healthy mouth is an important part of your overall health. It is tempting to ignore when something is wrong in the hopes that it will just go away on its own. However, with dental issues, that is a horrible idea! Tooth problems rarely go away on their own. Instead, they get worse and can lead to serious health issues.
Gum Disease
Periodontitis, or gum disease, is a serious condition that gets worse over time. It leads to excruciating pain, irreversible damage, and eventual tooth loss. Furthermore, new research suggests that the inflammation caused by gum disease can spread throughout the body. The bacteria from gum disease can also enter your bloodstream, leading to stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and diabetes. A healthy mouth is important in its own right, but a diseased mouth can affect the rest of your body as well.
Erupted Wisdom Teeth
The narrowing palates due to a softer diet and more frequent mouth breathing mean that most people today don’t have enough room in their mouths for their wisdom teeth to erupt. This can lead to a variety of issues. First, if your wisdom teeth do erupt, they can cause tooth crowding. Crowding leads to improper wearing down of the enamel, as well as jaw pain and speech impediments. It also undermines expensive orthodontic treatments for people who have had braces. When your wisdom teeth can’t erupt, it means that they have become impacted, which causes pain, infection, and damage to neighboring teeth. Check with your dentist to find out whether you need your wisdom teeth removed. If it is necessary to remove them, don’t worry. Dentists will use some kind of anesthesia before extracting your wisdom teeth.
Cavities
Cavities begin small, in the outermost layer of your tooth. However, left untreated, cavities continue to grow until they reach the inner pulp where they can become infected. Infections from cavities can spread to the heart, causing a serious infection of the heart valves called endocarditis. The bacteria from dental cavities can also enter your lungs, leading to pneumonia.
The health of your mouth does more than provide you with a stellular smile. A healthy mouth is critical for maintaining your overall health, as well. Practice good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing every day, visiting your dentist twice a year, and limiting sweets. And if an issue comes up, be sure to get it checked out right away.
Check out this article on how to protect your senses as you get older!
