The Oral Health and Systemic Health Link

 

The Oral-Systemic Connection, 2021.

Often dental hygiene is thought of as being as simple as keeping your teeth clean. Most people don’t know how it is so much more important than that. There has been evidence showing an important link between oral health and systemic health. Both affecting each other. (Kapila, 2021). 

Periodontal disease occurs when bacteria infects the surrounding tissues of teeth eventually causing recession of the gums and surrounding bone. (CDC, 2013). If this is mixed with a susceptible person due to systemic health, both conditions can be negatively affected (Kapila, 2021).                      

Especially notable conditions and habits are diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, eating disorders, smoking, liver disease, cancer and heart disease. In further detail, the body has all different kinds of bacteria just like the oral cavity does. Susceptible people may have a decreased immune system and allow these diseases to exacerbate in both the mouth and the whole body (Kapila, 2021). As well as negative habits that can be extremely damaging to a person's health, they can also have drastic effects on the oral cavity. 

This is why the connection between dental professionals and doctors is essential, as it may be important to control the systemic condition in order to control the oral condition or vice-versa. This also acts as a reminder of the importance of oral health due to the effects on the body as well as signs that disease may be present, which can display in the mouth (Kapila, 2021). 

Two common diseases that occur frequently in the elderly population are heart disease and cancer (Chronic Conditions for Older Adults, 2021). I will be elaborating specifically on these two topics and how it is connected to someone's oral health in my next vlog post. 





References


CDC. (2013). Periodontal disease. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/conditions/periodontal-disease.html#Reference 


Chronic Conditions for Older Adults. (2021). National Council on Aging. https://www.ncoa.org/article/the-top-10-most-common-chronic-conditions-in-older-adults


Kapila Y. L. (2021). Oral health's inextricable connection to systemic health: Special populations bring to bear multimodal relationships and factors connecting periodontal disease to systemic diseases and conditions. Periodontology 2000, 87(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/prd.12398 


The Oral Systemic Connection. [Digital Image]. (2021). Diamond Dental. https://www.diamonddentalok.com/blog/the-oral-systemic-connection

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dental Prosthetics

Image
  Dental Prosthetics                      (Fishman, 2021) What are Dentures? Dentures are removable prosthetics that help replace any missing teeth. Dentures are usually removable and attach to the surrounding gums and tooth structure to help support them. There are some occasions when dental prosthesis may be fixed and can not be removed from the mouth (Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.). The following fixed dental prosthesis can include  Bridges  Crown + Implant  Bridges are a great option to replace 1 or 2 teeth but cannot be applied when a patient has 2 or more missing teeth as bridges are anchored with a natural tooth (Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.).  Types of Dentures  There are two types of dentures and they are either partial or complete dentures. Partial dentures help replace one or more missing teeth whereas complete dentures help rep...
Read more

Oral Hygiene

  Our oral health is largely impacted by the steps we take at home to keep our mouths clean. In order to maintain a clean and healthy mouth, it is important to remove the dental plaque from the teeth and gums a minimum of twice a day. This is done by brushing, flossing and using other oral hygiene aids. It is especially important for the elderly to have a good home care routine for their mouths because it reduces the potential of developing oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease.  Our mouths naturally contain lots of bacteria. Throughout the day, these bacteria along with food debris form dental plaque on our teeth (NIDCR, 2020). If the dental plaque is not removed regularly it can lead to the formation of calculus and other complications. Calculus occurs on the dentition when the plaque has not been removed. The plaque hardens and becomes calculus and then it can only be removed by seeing your dental hygienist. Plaque that is left on the teeth can also le...
Read more