Dental & Oral Health

How much to you know about your own oral health?

Do you have gingivitis? Or gum disease? Are you bone levels optimal? Do your gums bleed when you brush or floss?

For many years your dentist or hygienist has been responsible for taking care of your mouth, as a result much of medicine has left this part of the body to the dental team.

The mouth, however, is attached to the rest of the body, and it is not a case of ‘what happens in the mouth stays in the mouth’. On the contrary, what happens in the mouth can often be a sure sign of what is happening in the rest of the body.

It is now well established that there are direct links between oral diseases and other chronic diseases including: –

• Cardiovascular diseases
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases
• Diabetes
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cancer

This may be due to their shared preventable risk factors, linked to diet and lifestyle, or that the oral bacteria find their way into the body. Inflammation is key to both processes, and inflammation is the basis of all chronic disease.

If you have inflammation associated with oral disease, such as gum disease or a painless abscess, which flares up from time to time, this will be having an impact on the inflammatory status of your whole body. It will increase the risk of developing other chronic diseases, including heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Your visit to the dentist or hygienist, and the home care oral hygiene practices you undertake, are fundamental to your overall health, but there is a big piece of the picture missing.

At The Emporium of Health, we offer a systemic approach to oral health – helping to modulate the immune system, optimise both the oral and gut microbiomes, and enhance nutrient levels to decrease inflammation.