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Posted on 2/15/2020 by Dr. Frank K. Sioda |
 Medicine has come a long way – even in the last 10 to 15 years and the mouth is now being considered the gateway to the body. In order to understand how the mouth can affect your body, you have to understand what can go wrong in the first place. When you have a cavity, that means part of that process is that bacteria build up on your tooth and make your gums prone to infection and then the gums become inflamed. That inflammation continues when and unless that infection is brought under control. Over a period of time the inflammation of your gums and the chemicals it releases eats away at the bone structure that holds your teeth in place, but, that inflammation also causes problems in the rest of your body. It Can Lead To DiabetesThe strongest relationship between untreated oral health issues and the damage to your body has to do with diabetes. As the inflammation starts in the mouth and weakens the body's ability to control the blood sugar. Diabetics have trouble processing sugar because of lack of insulin – and so gum disease and cavities and the inflammation due to these impair the body's ability to utilize insulin. To make matters worse, high blood sugar provides an ideal condition for infection to grow. The reasons are not yet fully understood, but there seems to be a correlation between cavities and poor gum disease that is linked with heart disease up to 91% of patients with heart disease also have severe gum disease and cavities. The theory is that inflammation in the mouth causes inflammation in the blood vessels. There seems to be a correlation with oral health and pregnancy or low birth weight babies who have significant health issues such as lung conditions and learning disorders. There is a possible correlation for a link to osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, lung conditions, even obesity. The one thing that has become clear is that the body and the mouth are not separate things. One can affect the other and clearly, they do and vice versa. Taking care of your oral health and your teeth clearly help you live longer. Please call our office today and schedule an appointment to talk to our dentists about your family medical history and let us get you in for a check-up to make sure everything is ok and if not, get some treatment going promptly so, your oral health can begin to help heal your overall physical health as well. |
 Talk to one of our caring patient coordinators today to schedule an appointment. Dr. Frank Sioda 18676 Willamette Dr. Suite 202 West Linn, OR 97068-1718 |
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