Many others don’t know how their saliva affects this bacteria and how often they should brush their teeth. Moreover, bacteria and other mouth conditions can severely impact the body’s overall health.

The Mouth

Toxins enter our bodies through various means. One way is through the mouth. We ingest toxins, and breathe them in, but we can also take them in other ways. The gums are susceptible to taking in these toxins as well. This is especially true if a person has bleeding gums, gingivitis, periodontitis or trench mouth.

Saliva is the mouth’s primary defense against viruses and bacteria. Your mouth can have 500 types of bacteria at any given time. This means that you can’t leave it to your saliva, alone, to battle these bacteria. You also need to brush, floss and use mouthwash to protect your mouth and your entire body from bacteria.

Correlation

Oral health issues are also an indication that something is already wrong. This is because approximately 90 percent of diseases will first present symptoms of themselves in the mouth. Bleeding gums can be an indication of diabetes, which means that the body may also suffer from poor circulation and more susceptible to infection. White spots in the mouth can be an indication of cancer. Other mouth lesions can mean diabetes or AIDS.

Even swabbing your mouth for saliva can indicate that something much larger is going on. This is because the saliva has antibodies and enzymes within it. Cortisol levels that are present in saliva can indicate stress. Saliva can indicate bone loss and certain kinds of cancer. Saliva also lets dentists and doctors know hormone levels, environmental toxins and use of illegal drugs.

Causation

Bad oral hygiene can bring on more serious problems than halitosis and cavities. Bad oral hygiene can lead to preterm labor, heart attack and stroke. In general, bad oral hygiene attacks the cardiovascular system and presents harmful bacteria to your heart and other organs.

If you have gum disease, even brushing your teeth can cause bacteria to enter your body through your gums. To battle gum disease effectively, it becomes essential to visit a dentist to clean your teeth and possibly have your teeth scaled or root planed. It’s advisable that you avoid gum disease, but these procedures may become necessary should you get gum disease. It’s better to deal with scaling and root planing than to deal with more severe health issues. If your immune system is compromised for any reason, your body will be under attack. What most people don’t realize is that your immune system can be weaker for many reasons. For instance, if you’re pregnant or dealing with allergies, your immune system will be weaker. It’s not worth it to leave your oral hygiene to chance.

What You can Do

It’s important to keep your mouth clean. Brush at least twice a day, but if you can’t brush right away, chew gum, rinse your mouth, or drink water. Doing so will help to dislodge food particles from the mouth and increase saliva production, which will cut down on the amount of bacteria in the mouth. Visit the dentist regularly. It is advisable to go twice a year for general checkups; however, if you haven’t been to the dentist in a long time, you may need multiple office visits to correct your oral health issues. You will need to get a cleaning and x-rays at minimum.

While oral health issues can cause issues within the body, there is also a correlation between oral health issues and overall physical health. In whichever manner you want to look at it, maintaining good oral health is one of the best preventative measures to maintaining good health. Call today to schedule an appointment. Your oral and physical health depend on it.