Your dental health has an affect on your overall health
We hope your new year is off to a great start. We want to help keep you healthy in 2020 — because your dental health has an affect on your overall health. Do you know what disease over half of adult Americans are living with? Click here to find out how to avoid this common dental problem.
It’s true that almost 80% of adult Americans are living with some form of periodontal disease, also known as gum disease. If left untreated, however, the bacteria that causes gum disease doesn’t just affect your mouth, but can travel to other parts of your body and cause major health issues such as heart disease and stroke. The good news is, you can keep your gums and body healthy with simple preventative measures.
How To Avoid Gum Disease
One of the most important things you can do to maintain your oral health — and overall health — is to practice good oral hygiene at home. Brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day has a bigger impact than you may think. Without proper at-home dental hygiene, plaque and food can build up on your teeth. The result is bacteria that hardens into tartar. When left untreated, tartar can irritate the gums and lead to gum disease. Here is how gum disease progresses:
- Gingivitis — This is the first stage of gum disease, where you may notice your gums are red and swollen or that they bleed when brushing and flossing. Besides poor dental hygiene, it can also be brought on by hormonal changes, especially affecting teenagers and pregnant women. Preventing gingivitis is as simple as brushing and flossing daily and keeping up with dental cleaning appointments twice a year.
- Periodontitis — Periodontitis is a more severe form of gum disease, occuring when gingivitis is left untreated. It can lead to more severe oral health problems such as tooth loss and bone loss in the jaw, and once this sets in, the damage can not be reversed.
Besides poor hygiene, those with the following conditions are at a higher risk of contracting periodontitis:
- Habitual smoking/tobacco use
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- Obesity
At Smiles by Holsinger & Higgins, we want to help you avoid gum disease at all costs. That’s why we perform an oral health check during your routine visits. Until we see you again, we wish you good health in 2020 and beyond.
