Your mouth is a mirror that reflects your overall health and well being, It’s also a key determinant of your nutritional status and your self-esteem.
But what is oral health? The word “oral” includes, not only the teeth and gums and their supportive tissues, but also the following:
- roof and the floor of the mouth (the hard and soft palate)
- tongue and lining of the mouth and the throat (called the mucosa)
- lips
- salivary glands
- upper and lower jaws
- chewing muscles
Oral health also involves the branches of the nervous system, the immune system and the vascular system (blood vessels) that serve this part of your body.
Consequently, oral health means more than just being free from cavities and gum disease. Oral health, the report states, means overall health in the tissues that “allow us to speak and smile; sigh and kiss; smell, taste, touch, chew and swallow; cry out in pain; and convey a world of feelings and emotions through facial expressions.”
The relationship between oral health and overall health
The health of the oral tissues is indicative of the health of organs and systems throughout your body. We can gather an enormous amount of information about your overall health simply by examining these tissues.
A thorough oral exam can uncover nutritional deficiencies, microbial infections, immune disorders and some forms of cancer. Analyzing saliva under a microscope can discover clues to a disease. Facial nerves have counterparts elsewhere in the body. The jawbones and jaw joint function like other musculoskeletal regions of the body.
Conversely, research is showing us that disease within the mouth – especially periodontal (gum) disease – is connected to ailments throughout the body. Infections in the mouth are a gateway for disease-causing bacteria to enter the bloodstream and provoke a number of diseases, including:
- Heart disease and stroke Respiratory infection
- Diabetes
- Stomach ulcers
- Low birth weight or premature births
So what should you do?
Decay (also called caries) and periodontal disease are the most common, widespread dental diseases. They’re also the most preventable. Community prevention programs, such as fluoridated drinking water, dental hygiene instruction in schools, nutrition education and tobacco cessation programs, save billions of dollars per year in public health costs, according to the report. And best of all, they help most people keep their natural teeth for a lifetime.
If you have any plan to travel to Istanbul, Turkey for a business or a holiday, you can contact us and we can examine your mouth for potential desiases and can advise what needs to be done in case If any…
