Your oral health affects a lot more than your teeth and gums. Good dental hygiene helps to bolster one of your body’s first defenses against disease – your mouth. A healthy mouth can keep bacteria and viruses from entering your system and getting to the rest of your organs.
Dentists can tell a lot about a person based upon their dental health. Diabetes, heart disease, oral cancer, and HIV all have symptoms that affect your oral health. Conversely, poor oral health can allow bacteria to infect your internal organs, causing significant medical problems.
How Does My Oral Health Affect My Heart?
It may seem like oral health begins and ends in your mouth, but this simply isn’t the case. People with periodontitis open themselves up to bacteria entering the bloodstream. Ultimately, this bacteria arrives in the arteries and the heart.
Periodontitis can cause inflammation in the blood vessels, cause blood clots, and create plaque in the blood vessels. The immune system’s reaction to periodontal diseases can further weaken the blood vessels, leading to increased blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke.
Periodontitis is a preventable condition where the gums become infected and inflamed due to plaque build up. This infection damages the tissue and bone that support your teeth, which can lead to the loss of teeth. Basically, periodontitis is what unchecked gingivitis leads to.
Preventing gum inflammation and bone loss is easy. All you have to do is take care of your mouth just as you have always been taught: by brushing regularly, flossing daily, going to your dental cleanings and checkups, and keeping up your healthy habits.
How Do I Know if I Have Periodontitis?
There are always warning signs for infections like periodontitis. While you will not know if you have periodontal diseases without a dental checkup and diagnosis from your dentist, keep a lookout for these warning signs:
- Swollen gums
- Gums that are bright red or purple
- Painful gums
- Looking “long in the tooth”
- Spaces appearing between teeth
- Pus coming from your gums
- Bleeding when brushing or flossing
- Metallic taste in your mouth
- Bad breath
- Loose teeth
Usually, if you regularly visit your dentist, you can catch gum disease long before it becomes periodontitis. However, if you are currently experiencing these symptoms or you have not seen a dentist in a very long time, now is the time for a checkup. Here at 181 Dental, we offer new patient specials of which you can and should take advantage.
For example, if you are concerned that you may be suffering from gum disease, come in and get a cleaning, exam, and x-rays for only $150.00. Just be sure to mention this special when you book your appointment.
No matter what your dental concern is, you can visit our team here in Portland for all of your dental care needs.