When you suffer from plaque, which is caused by bacteria building up on your teeth and causing inflammation, it’s not just your teeth that are in danger; your whole body could suffer as a result. In fact, lots of research shows that that there could be a link between the things ailing your mouth and other things that may ail your body and mind, such as heart problems and dementia.
While it’s not yet clear to scientists whether the mouth problems are causing the problems in the rest of the body or vice versa, what we know for sure is that there is a correlation of sorts.
How Dental Plaques Are Formed
When you eat foods and drink beverages with lots of sugars, bacteria release acids to digest these sugars that also end up attacking your enamel. Those acids are what eventually break your teeth down and cause tooth decay, gum disease, and so on. Gum disease is also known as periodontal disease.
Link Between Dental Plaque and Other Diseases
Scientists have found quite a number of links between gum disease and other diseases that affect other parts of your body. These include diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, premature birth, and even dementia. To be sure, the experts don’t fully understand how the links come to be, but a popular guess is that the very same bacteria that attack your teeth might find a way to escape into your bloodstream and attack other parts of your body.
One thing that is pretty common is inflammation. When you have periodontal disease, you are going to experience inflammation as one of the symptoms. This inflammation in the gums may possibly lead to inflammation in other parts of the body. Most of the other diseases that have been linked to gum disease are also characterized by inflammation.
Whatever the link, what we know for sure is that you shouldn’t take your oral health lightly. Schedule regular visits with us so we can nip those oral complications in the bud and ensure you have a healthy mouth and a healthy body as a result.
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