3 Surprising Conditions That Connect to Your Oral Health

When most people think about going to the dentist, they do not think about it in terms of their overall health and well-being. Instead, many people think of their dental and oral health as something completely separate from the rest of their body. However, there are links between numerous health conditions and dental health.

Get to know some of the potentially surprising conditions that can be connected to your oral health. Then, you can be sure that you are taking the best care of your physical and dental health going forward.

Diabetes is a condition that has become quite common among Americans. In fact, over 30 millionpeople had diabetes in 2015. Despite how common diabetes is, many people do not know much about the effects of the condition, including those people that suffer from it.

One of the facts about diabetes that many people do not realize is that the disease can have a major impact on your oral health. Diabetes increases the risk of developing several oral health issues. One of the most common issues that people with diabetes face is gum disease.

While it is not certain whether one causes the other, it has been noted that gum disease rates are higher among people with diabetes. Additionally, gum disease can actually contribute to the worsening of diabetes symptoms and may even increase a person's blood sugar.

Tooth decay, mouth lesions, and other types of mouth infections are also quite common for people that suffer from diabetes. If you have diabetes, then you should head to the dentist as soon as possible if you notice any signs of gum disease, like sore or bleeding gums, or another oral health issues.

Another health issue that can have a major impact on oral health is an eating disorder. Specifically, anorexia and bulimia seem to have the biggest impact on oral health. Bulimia is an eating disorder that involves binging and purging. The purging has a particularly damaging effect on the teeth.

One of the most common ways to purge is to vomit. Vomit is highly acidic because of the stomach acid that comes up with the food. This acidity erodes the enamel of the teeth, leaving them vulnerable to further damage, decay, and infections.

Anorexia, on the other hand, has to do with extreme dietary restrictions. In this case, a person becomes extremely malnourished. This can compromise the oral health in a variety of ways. Without proper nutrients like vitamins and minerals, the bones and the teeth cannot get the nutrients they need. This can lead to tooth loss and further damage to the mouth.

Heart disease is another condition that is commonly linkedto dental problems. Gum disease and heart disease, in particular, are linked. When a person has moderate to advanced gum disease, they are a great deal more likely to develop heart disease than those people with healthy gums. Most experts believe this is because the bacteria in the mouth travel through the bloodstream to the heart.

When the bacteria reach the heart, they can cause inflammation. The inflammation can then lead to other problems and infections like clogged arteries and endocarditis.

Oftentimes, if you find out you have gum disease, it can be an early warning sign of heart health problems; and vice versa, if you have heart disease, then you may want to go to the dentist to be checked out for gum disease and other oral bacterial infections.

Knowing that these conditions are connected to oral health, you can schedule your next dentist appointment as soon as possible to take care of your oral health going forward.