Oral Health Fast Facts: A Must Know About Oral Diagnosis

Your oral health is more important than you might realize. Learn how the health of your mouth, teeth, and gums can affect your general health.

What’s The Connection Between Oral Health And Overall Health?

Like other areas of the body, your mouth teems with bacteria — mostly harmless. But your mouth is the entry point to your digestive and respiratory tracts, and some of these bacteria can cause disease.

Normally the body’s natural defenses and good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing, keep bacteria under control. However, without proper oral hygiene, bacteria can reach levels that might lead to oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease.

Also, certain oral medications — such as decongestants, antihistamines, painkillers, diuretics, and antidepressants — can reduce saliva flow. Saliva washes away food and neutralizes acids produced by bacteria in the mouth, helping to protect you from microbes that multiply and lead to disease.

Studies suggest that oral bacteria and the inflammation associated with a severe form of gum disease (periodontitis) might play a role in some diseases. And certain diseases, such as diabetes and HIV/AIDS, can lower the body’s resistance to infection, making oral health problems more severe.

How Important Is Oral Health?

Normally the body’s natural defenses and good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing. Keep bacteria under control. However, without proper oral hygiene. Bacteria can reach levels that might lead to oral infections. Such as tooth decay and gum disease.

Here Are Some Oral Health Fast Facts:

Oral health is essential to general health and well-being.

Oral disease can cause pain and infections that may lead to problems with eating, speaking, and learning. It can also affect social interaction and employment potential.

The three oral conditions that most affect overall health and quality of life are cavities, severe gum disease, and severe tooth loss.

By age 8, over half of the children (52%) have had a cavity in their primary (baby) teeth.

Children from low-income families are twice as likely to have cavities as children from higher-income families.

1 in 4 adults aged 20 to 64 currently has cavities.

Drinking fluoridated water and getting dental sealants (in childhood) prevent cavities and save money by avoiding expensive dental care.

Tobacco use and diabetes are two risk factors for gum disease.

On average, 34 million school hours are lost each year because of unplanned (emergency) oral dental care. And over $45 billion in US productivity is lost each year due to untreated dental disease.

Medical-dental integration between oral health and chronic disease prevention programs benefits patients and saves money.

Health is wealth as we all know but proper oral care of the mouth as a whole is something that has to be taken with high importance. Eating healthy and oral health-improving foods. Attending oral diagnosis checkups from time to time to know what’s going on in the mouth and the solution to some health problems, if only there is.

We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information check our services or visit DDH-Divine Dental Home at 8B Fabac Close, Off Ligali Ayorinde St, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria