Why Oral Health is Important

When it comes to health, there are a lot of things that we can control. We exercise, we eat well, and we take care of ourselves. But one thing that a lot of people don’t pay enough attention to is their oral hygiene.

Ahhh, dental hygiene. When you’re a kid, it’s all fun and games. You get to sit in the dentist’s chair and watch TV while they clean your teeth. But as an adult, it’s not so fun anymore.

You have to brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day, and floss them once a day. You also need to make an appointment every six months for a cleaning and checkup—and then sometimes even more frequently if you have any problems with your teeth.

We all hate getting told at the dentist that we need to brush and floss more. It feels like the Dental Hygienist/Doctor is just trying to scare you into brushing your teeth more. The most important part of dental health, getting rid of plaque buildup. 

Over time, if not brushed and flossed properly, your risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease increases. Not only does improper dental hygiene affect your teeth, it can also cause a bunch of other problems in other parts of your body, and (in extreme cases) can lead to death.

We at Health Fitness Revolution really urge each and every one of you to take charge of your Dental health and keep yourselves healthy.

Along with a few product recommendations, here are some cons and pros of taking care of your dental hygiene:

Consequences

To start us off, and to be able to get the bad stuff out of the way, here are a few bad things that may occur due to improper Oral Hygiene. We want to emphasize how important proper oral hygiene is and want it to resonate with all of our readers.  

Causes Heart Attacks

Unfortunately, the bacteria that grow in your mouth, don’t always stay inside of your mouth. The most common form of this is the bacteria that cause Periodontal Disease, Treponema Denticola and Porphyromonas Gingivalis. 

When the gums become inflamed, the gums’ blood vessels are open for those bacteria to enter the bloodstream. Over time, this causes the arteries to build up plaque and harden in the arteries, known as Atherosclerosis. This build-up leads to problems with blood flow and heart blockages. This can lead to a heart attack. 

Gum disease is very serious and, if you develop it, your risk for a heart attack increases by nearly 50%.    

Dementia

Just like with Heart Attacks, when the gums develop gum disease, harmful bacteria can enter the bloodstream and cause lots of problems. One of these problems is causing Dementia. These bacteria can enter the bloodstream and may end up in the brain. This can lead to brain cells getting killed and lead to memory loss diseases. 

Although not the only cause of Dementia related diseases, there is a high relevance between those who develop gum disease and dementia diseases.   

Infertility and Pregnancy Problems

In men and women, gum disease can lead to infertility, making getting pregnant very difficult. 

In men, poor oral health can reduce their sperm count and affect their sperm’s ability to swim. These both make getting pregnant harder and can even prevent a pregnancy from occurring at all.  

In women, it is believed that, since the body is working extra hard to get rid of the gum disease, that the immune system is overly active and may not let the fetus stay long enough to develop. A study done by Roger Hart, a professor of Reproductive Medicine at the University of Western Australia, found that women with gum disease took on average an extra two months to conceive, compared to women who did not have gum disease. (The average, he found, was that those without gum disease took around five months. Those with gum disease took around seven months.)

Arthritis

The bacteria that causes Periodontal Disease, when it gets into your bloodstream, can also cause arthritis. Just like with dementia & heart attacks, when this bacteria moves to other parts of the body, it makes organs work harder and cause harm. In the case of Arthritis, the bacteria in the mouth create autoantibodies, which causes the body’s immune system to confuse healthy cells with bad cells. As a result, these bacteria and autoantibodies will enter the synovial fluid, the cushion between joints, and start to dissolve it. Over time, there will be no cushion left, leading to extreme pain because your bones will be grinding against each other instead of against that cushion. 

Pregnancy Complications

During pregnancy, poor oral health can lead to two serious pregnancy complications: low birth weight (when the baby weighs less than 5 lbs, 8 oz) and preterm birth (when the baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy).  

Benefits

To end on a more positive note, here are a few benefits of good Oral Hygiene. 

Healthier Gums

In the consequences, we mentioned a bunch of bad things that happen to the rest of the body if one’s oral health isn’t adequate. If you take care of your health properly, the gums will not be inflamed, and will be healthier overall! With the gums being healthier, there will be no possibility of bad bacteria entering the other systems. 

Lower Chance of Diabetes

When harmful bacteria caused by Periodontitis, and advanced gum disease, get into the bloodstream, along with many other negative effects, it can cause the immune system to wrongly tell the Pancreas to raise the blood sugar. This leads to Diabetes getting out of control. Luckily, if one takes care of their oral health, this bacteria does not get to the immune system, therefore making the development of diabetes not as prevalent. 

Of course, if you are not born with diabetes, you still need to take care of your overall health to prevent diseases like Diabetes to develop. 

Safer Pregnancies

In newer studies, scientists have found a link between poor oral health and low birth weight & preterm birth, both of which can lead to complications in the baby’s early life. Babies are more likely to thrive if they are born at a proper weight and after 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Decreased Cancer Risk

Due to recent research, although scientists aren’t 100% sure how, there is a connection between oral health and cancer growth, especially when referring to pancreatic cancer. Some believe that the Treponema Denticola and Porphyromonas Gingivalis bacterias help to promote cancer-causing cell to grow. With proper oral care, these bacteria don’t have a chance to start that process.  

Better Breath

And finally, the one that most are familiar with, good oral health helps one have better breath. When you don’t brush and floss properly, particles of the food you ate are left behind in your mouth. Bad breath is caused by the bacterias Prevotella (Bacteroides) melaninogenica, Treponema denticola, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Porphyromonas endodontalis, and many more. Not only do these bacterias cause bad breath, but also lead to the development of plaque on the teeth which, if left improperly cleaned, leading to cavities and gum disease.