Oral or dental health is a vast aspect in itself. It is not just limited to the health and wellbeing on the mouth, teeth and the gums. Mouth – as everyone will readily agree – is the primary entryway into our body. As a result poor oral health can easily have a negative impact on the entire body. As a matter of fact aching tooth, bleeding gums and bad breath are nothing but indications of an individual’s poor oral health. Harmful bacteria that are responsible for various oral health issues can also get into your bloodstream easily and spread infections and inflammations in other parts of the body. As a result your overall general health gets affected.

Therefore it is vital to maintain sound oral hygiene regimen every day. It is also important to visit your dentist regularly for routine checkups. In the following section of this blog post let us explore few common and serious general health issues that are triggered by poor oral health.

Cardiovascular disease

If a person consistently suffers from poor oral health then the individual has higher chances of developing heart disease. Inflamed gums are symptom of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is an oral health issue that no dentist will ever tell you to take lightly. It is caused by some harmful bacteria that thrive in a mouth with poor oral health quotient. The same bacteria can also get into your bloodstream and choke arteries. Arterial blockage is caused by plaque build-ups. In course of time these build-ups turn hardened. As a result normal blood flow through the artery gets affected. In medical terms the condition of hardening of arteries is called atherosclerosis. It is a very serious issue. The condition may trigger a lot of problems ranging from inconsistent blood flow, heart blockages and even heart attack. Moreover, the negative impact that atherosclerosis makes on the blood vessels and the arteries raises the chances of hypertension as well as stroke. In this circumstance a patient may also develop the condition of Endocarditis or infected lining of the heart. This is a fatal condition to say the least.

But just as the silver lining around the darkest cloud is so prominent it is possible preventing gum disease. Practising sound oral hygiene and having the teeth professionally cleaned at regular intervals you can easily prevent the condition of periodontal disease. This also reduces your chances developing cardiovascular disease. Moreover your effort with your teeth and the gums help maintaining a healthy and beautiful smile.

Dementia

Poor oral health has immense chances of affecting the brain. Gums when inflamed because of infection release a substance. This substance kills the cells of the brain. Thus one suffers from memory loss. There is a very strong connection between the condition of dementia and gingivitis. Even Alzheimer’s disease and gingivitis are also inter connected to each other. These conditions are likely to occur when disease-causing bacteria in the mouth enters into the bloodstream and gradually spreads to the nerve channels.

Diabetes or blood sugar

Diabetes are much more susceptible to infections, including infected and inflamed gums. Inflamed and infected gums often lead to periodontal disease. The other way around when a diabetic develops periodontal disease, It becomes much more difficult to keep the diabetes under control. Because of the gum disease or gum infection the sugar level in your blood is most likely to go haywire. As far as diabetics are concerned, they must take a very good care of their oral health. This is crucial in order to prevent complications with their chronic health condition. When a person develops gum disease the blood sugar level for that individual has higher chances to shot up than normal. Thus the person is at greater risk of developing diabetes or blood sugar.

Respiratory infections

You poor oral can also make your respiratory system to suffer. Bacteria from the infected tooth and the swollen gums in the mouth could be breathed into the lungs. Thus the disease-causing microbes enter into the bloodstream. Once it has reached there, it can trigger respiratory infections, acute bronchitis, COPD, pneumonia and other serious conditions.

Complications in pregnancy

It is important for pregnant ladies to take excellent care of their mouth and maintain sound oral hygiene. Fluctuations of hormonal level in the body during pregnancy make a woman prone to develop oral infections more easily than at any other time. On the other hand any infection incurred during pregnancy puts a woman at higher risk of experiencing pregnancy complications. Often it is found that mothers who suffer from dental issues like periodontitis or gingivitis often give premature birth. Moreover babies born to such mothers are also to thave low birth weight. Gum disease – in particular – puts both a mother and her child at the risk of experiencing serious issues related to health.

Infertility

Statistics reveal there is yet another nasty connection existing between poor oral health issues and infertility in women. Gum disease itself often leads to other issues related to dental health. These related issues make it difficult for a woman to conceive in one hand, while on the other sustaining a healthy pregnancy also becomes difficult. A woman with sound oral health is likely to get conceived much earlier than another with poor oral health.

Erectile Dysfunction or ED

A man with poor oral health is more likely to be at higher risk of suffering from Erectile Dysfunction or ED. As such chronic periodontal disease is often found to be related to ED. The gum tissues pull away from the teeth and that condition is called the CPD. In this circumstance tiny pockets are created in the mouth. These pockets are filled with the harmful bacteria. These microbes easily found their way into the bones surrounding the teeth. Bacteria from the inflamed and infected gum tissues easily get into the bloodstream of a patient. As a result the blood vessels too become inflamed. This inflammation blocks the normal flow of blood to the genitals. As a result erections become difficult or even impossible to achieve.

Cancer

Habitual consumption of tobacco often results in poor oral health. These habits lead to oral, lung and throat cancers. But other types of cancer are also related to gum disease. People with poor oral health are more at risk of developing cancer in the kidney, pancreas and the blood.

Dentists with years of experience in providing emergency dental treatment in London identify few other severe health conditions that are related to poor health. These include rheumatoid arthritis, kidney diseases and much more. Considering all these facts you should never consider your oral health as a choice under any circumstance. Rather you should remember that it is actually more of a compulsion.