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Dental Health |
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Dental health is also called Oral health.
Oral refers to the mouth, which includes the teeth, gums, and supporting tissues.
It is easy to take your oral health for granted, but it is key to living each day comfortably.
These tissues allow you to speak, smile, sigh, kiss, smell, taste, chew, swallow, and cry.
They also let you show a world of feelings through expressions.
Taking good care of these tissues can prevent disease in them and throughout your body.
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The health of your mouth can be a sign of your overall health.
Many serious diseases, such as diabetes, HIV, and some eating disorders,
show their first signs as symptoms in the mouth.
This is why it is important to have complete, regular oral exams.
Most of us think of problems with the mouth in terms of cavities, toothaches, and crooked or stained teeth.
Lacking healthy teeth and gums has an effect on how we look, but it also affects the health of our bodies.
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If you have gum disease, you may be more likely to get heart disease.
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Having missing teeth can affect your mental health since it can lead to feeling badly about yourself.
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If you have diabetes, you may be more likely to get gum disease.
- If you have both diabetes and gum disease, you can have more problems controlling your blood sugar levels.
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Most Common Oral Health Problems |
The most common oral health problems are cavities and gum disease.
Dental cavities
Everyone is at risk for getting cavities throughout life. By the time most people are adults, 85 percent of people will have had a cavity!
You naturally have bacteria (germs) in your mouth. The bacteria mix with your saliva and bits of food in your mouth to form a coating (dental plaque) that sticks to your teeth. There are acids in the plaque that wear away the teeth. These acids can get inside the teeth and create holes in the teeth, or cavities.
Gum diseases
Gum disease is caused by infection or plaque around your teeth and is a common cause of tooth loss after age 35. The first stage and most common type of gum disease is gingivitis (jin-ji-vie-tus). Gingivitis irritates the gums and causes them to bleed and swell. Gum diseases are more often seen as people age, with most people showing signs of them by their mid-30s.
Periodontitis (pear-ee-o-don-tie-tus) is a more serious type of gum disease that, if left untreated, gets worse as pockets of infection form between the teeth and gums. This causes your gums to grow away from teeth and lose supporting bone. If the teeth can’t be supported, they could fall out. This disease results from bacteria in your mouth. You may be more likely to be infected with these bacteria if:
- someone else in your family has periodontitis
- you are a smoker
- you have a disease like diabetes or HIV
Now you understand how important your oral health is, to search, compare and choose from the
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Dental Basics
