When was the last time you visited your Dentist?
If you can't remember or haven't been in the last six months, you're in the same boat as 35% of youth and adults in the US.
According to a study by Gallup: women are more likely to visit the Dentist than men, and whites are more likely to go to the Dentist than blacks and Hispanics. Seventy percent of whites and Asians visited in 2018, compared to the 55 percent of blacks and Hispanics. Young people between the ages of 18 and 29, meanwhile, are less likely to visit the Dentist than people who are older, and Southerners are the least likely to visit the Dentist among all Americans.
If I still have your attention, let's get into why this is such a big deal. Although mostly preventable dental caries (cavities) and periodontal disease remain the TWO biggest threats to oral health.
DENTAL CAVITIES ARE THE MOST COMMON CHRONIC DISEASE IN CHILDREN.
It is about five times as common as asthma and seven times as common as hay fever. The most common cause of tooth loss among adults is untreated, periodontal disease. Fifty-three million people live with untreated tooth decay in their permanent teeth. Strikingly, one-quarter of adults aged 65 years and older have lost all of their teeth due to untreated oral disease.
So what does this have to do with you?
Despite these statistics, the majority of Americans take oral health for granted as they may be unaware of the comorbidities related to oral disease. Other than vain aesthetics, periodontal disease and cavities play a considerable role in your overall health. You're probably wondering how that is, so here are just a few of the many backed by evidence-based research as well as clinician experience:
Cardiovascular disease: Heart disease and gum disease often go hand in hand; 99 % of people diagnosed with heart disease have periodontitis too! Inflammation in the oral cavity causes inflammation in the blood vessels, which dramatically increases the risk for heart attack. Inflammation of the blood vessels causes for reduced blood flow to travel between the heart and the rest of the body raising blood pressure. It also increases the risk for a "fatty plaque" to detach from the wall of a blood vessel and then travel to the heart or brain, which would result in a stroke or heart attack.
Diabetes: Inflammation in the mouth, such as which occurs with periodontal disease, weakens the body's ability to balance and regulate blood sugar. People with Diabetes are not able to control their blood sugar levels due to a lack of insulin, a hormone that helps facilitate sugar into energy. Inflammation impairs the body's natural response in utilizing insulin. Diabetes and periodontitis have a two-way relationship. A high blood sugar, which is typical for folks with Diabetes, provides the ideal environment for infections (including gum infections) to grow. Conversely, you can use the gum disease-diabetes relationship to your favor: managing one can help bring the other under control.
Oral infections, such as periodontal disease, cause inflammation which has been proven to interfere with fetus development in the womb that may cause low birth weight, lung conditions, heart conditions, or even learning disorders.
Periodontal disease and cavities are capable of causing infections or abscess that may move to the bone marrow or blood-stream, causing sepsis or shock. This tragic phenomenon, although rare, is the reality for lives each year. Dental infections and other tooth-related problems were listed at the 5th or 6th leading cause of death in the 1600s.
So what can you do?
1) Make it a priority to find a Dentist you're comfortable seeing a minimum of 1-2 times per year for an exam, x-rays as needed, and professional cleaning.
The prognosis (forecast of the outcome) is almost always improved if problems and disease are addressed sooner. A great example is cavities. If caught early enough, cavities may not even need anesthetic (the infamous shot) when restoring them. The longer you wait to have your cavitated lesion detected and restored by a Dentist, the higher the risk of not only having to lose more natural tooth structure but also needing a root canal.
2) Listen to your body. If you have a toothache, discomfort in your mouth or notice something that looks weird, make an appointment with your Dentist for a quick evaluation.
3) Brush and floss your teeth at the very minimum of once a day.
Make sure you're using a soft-bristle toothbrush. If you have wisdom teeth or trouble reaching your posterior teeth, invest in your health, and purchase an electric toothbrush with a small brush head. Another perk of the electric brush is that most have a feature that notifies you if you're brushing too hard and how long you should spend brushing each quadrant of your mouth.
4) Chew xylitol gum in between meals
5) Avoid tobacco use.
6) Stay hydrated /drink plenty of water at-least six 8oz cups a day.
Taking care of your oral health is an investment in your overall health.