A human being’s life is surprisingly unpredictable. At one point, our guardians are busy changing our diapers, and as life goes on, things start to become more complex. However, there are some things in life which become a part of our daily routine. For instance, we never forget to wake up every morning and brush our teeth. A method begins from there and goes on as and when we age.
However, a crucial factor in old habits is that they stay with us—be it the good ones or the bad ones. Both of them are hard to let go of, and both function in different ways. While a bad habit might be easy to follow but hard to leave, a good one is not the easiest one to stick to. The excellent practice we are talking about here is something we’ve been made to follow since we were two—taking care of our oral health.
A person’s mouth is the receiving end of the most beneficial of nutrients and ingredients that keep the body’s engine running and the mind’s lights on. Whenever we consume something, the mouth breaks it down in the preliminary stage of digestion, which very much begins from there. After that, the biology does its thing, and the human body is indeed a temple that gets things done. However, what if the gateway to digestion is at fault?
If your oral health isn’t on point, the rest of your body dysfunctions in response to it, and we’re not just talking bad breath, and food stuck in gums, of severe problems occur in case of dental issues. For this very reason, it is very crucial to maintain a spirit of good oral hygiene from childhood only. Also, any dental problems lead to long term problems, and if it’s too late for you to understand its importance, then help the young ones around you know some basics—they still have some dental health to save.
The human body is like a botanist’s boutique. When fleas strike or infest one flower, the botanist either throws that flower away or fumigates it because one lousy bulb can wreak havoc throughout the boutique. Metaphorically speaking, we cannot discard a part of our body even if we want to and we are aware of the fact that it’ll impact every organ of our organization. So the best we can do is either fixing it up or ensure that it doesn’t go wrong in the first place.
Let’s start with the consequences of bad oral health and how it impacts human biology. If you think that it’s just about cavities and swollen gums, think again—poor oral health can have some SERIOUS health consequences.
Ghastly Effects of Poor Oral Health
You would’ve never thought that poor oral health would have so many disastrous repercussions and if they could become a playground for a multiverse of diseases. Here are some devastating illnesses that have one catalyst—poor oral health.
Cardiovascular Ailments
Yep, you read that right. The doorway to cardiovascular diseases (AKA ailments related to the heart) is poor oral health. Fiery gums and periodontal diseases infect the bloodstream, which commutes to the arteries and in the center. This is a prevalent cause of atherosclerosis—a condition that hardens the arteries.
Atherosclerosis gives birth to plaque, which develops on the inner walls of arteries. When the arteries thicken, the flow of blood decreases due to blockage, and this causes a problem throughout the body. You know what this means—an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. In many cases, this infects the inner lining of the heart, leading to a condition called endocarditis, in which there’s a burning sensation throughout the inner lining of the heart.
Dementia
Do you have tender gums? Do they bleed when you try cleaning them up or brushing your teeth? It’s called gingivitis, and it’s a periodontal disease that causes irritation, swelling, and redness. The bacteria from gingivitis are dangerous and spread like anything. If it enters the brain through the nerve channels of the head or makes way through the bloodstream, it develops into the infamous and fatal Alzheimer’s disease.
Sure, tender gums and burning sensation doesn’t sound like the most pleasant of sight, but we often stop paying heed to this dodgy problem, and that goes horribly wrong. Next time you have swollen gums to take care of, take care of them—don’t fall for something that can turn out to be demonic in the future.
Lung Infection
The leading cause of lung infection is, of course, the air that we breathe in, but it’s not just restricted to that. It might look like that air is the only point of contact with our lungs, but when you breathe in bacteria that’s stuck to your infected teeth and gums; it impacts our respiratory health during the long course of time.
Lung infections give birth to the most serious of diseases including Strep Throat that causes a sore, scratchy throat; Acute Bronchitis burning up the bronchial tubes and the irritating common cold are some ailments that a lung infection can hurt with—all of that due to bad oral health!
Diabetic Problems
It is often said that diabetes is a disease that does not have a cure. Sure, it can be contained to a certain extent so that the blood sugar level doesn’t touch the extremities, but once diabetes strikes, it’s an endless circle of the fight against the sweet stuff. Diabetic ailments are a toughie to handle, and they begin with gum problems and periodontal diseases.
At most times, diabetes strikes before anything else, which makes it tougher to take care of. For this very reason, inflammation of the gum tissue and periodontal disease makes it very tough for patients to control their blood sugar—which means that diabetes symptoms get even worse. People who have diabetes are more susceptible to periodontal disease, which means that proper dental care becomes even more critical for diabetes stricken.
How to Save Oneself from Poor Oral Health
The question is that if oral health has serious repercussions, then what about kicking the bad stuff out? How do we pretend an oral health disaster? The answer is simple—we take care of our oral health since childhood.
To take care of your children’s oral health, give then the best dental care with Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics —a place where kids learn about oral health like no place else. Please don’t take your kids to an adult dentist, fix an appointment with a pediatric dentist, for s/he will understand your kids’ oral health better.
The best way to ensure proper oral health for life is to take care of your teeth every day. Please don’t skip the toothbrush, floss, and mouthwash routine and make it a point that your kids follow the same. After all, a lot of bad things can happen if a person’s oral health is in jitters.
We just looked at a few of many serious problems which have bad oral health as a direct catalyst, and we have to ensure that our kids don’t become the victim.
