Thrive 2021

DENTAL CARE

Healthy mouth, healthy body

Impact of gum disease can reach far beyond the mouth

"Gum health is important to overall health because your gums are linked to all of your organs."

Written by DR. MATTHEW CARELLA Allegany Dental

Everyone knows the importance of taking care of your heart through diet and exercise, but new studies indicate that taking care of your mouth with proper oral hygiene (OH) may be just as important to your health.

If you’ve had a large cavity, you might already be aware of the consequences of poor OH on the teeth themselves. If left untreated, cavities can lead to toothaches and even abscesses. Although painful, these effects are limited to the mouth, except in the most severe cases. However, teeth are just one type of tissue in the mouth.

Your gums, the soft tissues that surround your teeth, also experience the negative consequences of poor OH, and the impact of gum disease can reach far beyond the mouth. Most susceptible to poor OH is the tissue that forms a 1-3 mm collar around each tooth, the “marginal gingiva.” In dental school, it was drilled into my head (yes, pun intended) that the surface area of this tissue is approximately that of the palm of your hand – a very large area to be chronically inflamed and infected. Yet, many people have severe enough gum inflammation that they notice bleeding after brushing. I can assure you, if a palm-sized, red area that bled upon light touch cropped up anywhere else on your body, you’d be taking a trip to the emergency room!

Gum health is important to overall health because your gums are linked to all of your organs. Gums house a vast network of blood vessels, and the same blood that passes through the gums circulates throughout your entire body. When the gums are irritated from the prolonged presence of food debris and bacteria, their cells will alert one another through inflammatory messenger proteins. This cell-to-cell communication helps mount an immune response to fight off offending agents. Unfortunately, these inflammatory proteins do not stay confined to the gums; they leak into the bloodstream and quickly get transported to all areas of your body. These now-circulating inflammatory proteins have been associated with multiple diseases such as cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

If we reduce the amount of inflammation in our gums, we reduce the overall level of inflammation in our bodies. Fortunately, this is easily achieved through proper OH:

1. Brushing: Brush twice per day for two minutes each session with fluoridated toothpaste. Nightly brushing is most important to ensure the food and bacteria from the day do not sit on your teeth overnight. A soft bristle toothbrush is recommended, but the best option is a rechargeable electric toothbrush with an integrated two-minute timer.

2. Flossing: This only needs to be performed once per day and should be done before bed.

Incorporating these two habits into your daily routine will not only improve your oral health, but will also improve your overall health by reducing inflammation. Ask your dentist at your next visit about the many benefits of a healthy mouth!

Matthew Carella is a dentist with Allegany Dental Care in Hagerstown.