Maintaining good oral health is extremely vital for your teeth. Unfortunately, dental care may be the last priority for individuals with a busy or hectic schedule. What most don’t know is that the health of your mouth correlates to the health of the rest of your body. Good hygiene avoids disease, and not only in the mouth. Oral infections are found to be indicators of strokes, heart disease, diabetes, and many more common health issues.

How Does This Relate to My Overall Health?

Being able to smile and feel confident about your teeth is a great feeling, and having clean teeth is important not just for the sake of your appearance, but for your health too. Poor oral hygiene leads to a variety of dental and medical problems.

Here is a list of health issues linked to common dental issues:

• Pancreatic Cancer: Studies show a link between gum disease and pancreatic cancer in men. A team from Harvard School of Public Health examined 51,000 men with gum disease and found they had a 64% increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The researchers suggested there may be a link between high levels of compounds found in the mouths of people with gum disease and pancreatic cancer.
• Heart Disease: Research from Ireland and the UK has found an increased risk of heart disease in people with bleeding gums. Because bacteria in the mouth enters your bloodstream, it can form into blood clots, which interrupts the flow of blood to your heart, triggering a heart attack.
• Alzheimer’s Disease: Researchers from NYU found that gum disease in patients at the age of 70 was strongly associated with low scores of cognitive functions. They also found that participants were 9 times more likely to have a low score in cognitive testing (DST) if they had inflammation in their gums.
• Diabetes: Nearly a quarter of all diabetic people also have gum disease, which is mainly due to contracting infections. In fact, research suggest the relationship is interrelated and can go both ways. Diabetes makes it difficult to fight harmful bacteria, and gum disease, in turn, can make it harder to control blood sugar levels for diabetics.

Call Dental Health 360˚°at (201) 809-9566 to schedule an appointment with our experienced dentists. We serve patients in Paramus, NJ, Spring Valley, NY and surrounding areas.