Oral Health and Its Connection to the Body: Part Two

Posted March 10, 2016

Now that you know oral health is important to the entire body, are you curious what more you could be doing to help keep your kids’  smiles and the rest of their bodies healthy? Well preventive dental care is key, both through daily hygiene, at-home, and also regular dental checkups and cleanings. Combined, these are the best line of defense against dental problems, and the subsequent risks to a person’s overall health, that could potentially be caused by issues like gum disease. So, if you want to keep your kids’ smiles looking their best, and just as importantly, help them take better care of their entire well-being, here are a few more tips preventive dentists think people should know!

What Should You Do to Care for Your Smile, and Body?

To best prevent dental problems, and any subsequent oral systemic health issues, it’s best to combine daily dental hygiene with regular dental checkups and cleanings. This goes for kids and adults, alike, as both are vulnerable to plaque buildup, which can cause cavities, gum disease and other dental issues, regardless of age.

Prompt restorative treatment, such as fillings, crowns, or even a pulpotomy, is the best way to improve the oral health after a dental problem. Keep in mind that most dental issues will not resolve on their own; they will require dental treatment.

To reverse the symptoms of gum disease, in particular, though, many patients will require ongoing treatment.

For some patients, extensive general cleaning may be enough to reverse the signs of gum disease, such as bleeding gums, overly red or inflamed tissue. This is particularly true if the disease is caught in its first stage, gingivitis.

But left untreated, more extensive cleaning such as ultrasonic scaling may become required to restore the oral health, therefore protecting the rest of the body from the potential ill effects caused by gum disease.

Though scientists are still studying the exact correlations between oral health and the whole body, it is clear that they closely connect to one another, making oral care all the more important.