Can Bleeding Gums Cause a Heart Attack?

What is the Oral-Systemic Link?

You’ve always heard that it’s important to take care of your teeth. Brush and floss every day, and see the dentist for good oral health. But did you know that your oral health could directly affect your overall health? And the road goes both ways—problems with your overall health show signs in your mouth, too.

Did you know that gum disease increases your risk of heart attack by 50%? Did you know that plaque buildup in your mouth can be an indicator of and contribute to plaque buildup in your arteries? These mouth-body connections are called the “oral-systemic link”. Portland dentist Dr. David Case explains the important ways your body systems work together for better or worse.

Gum Disease

Infection in your gums can significantly increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, low birth weight babies, bacterial pneumonia and more. In fact, gum disease is directly linked to at least 52 other systemic diseases. If you get gum disease you may be at a higher risk of developing health problems in these areas because:

  • Your mouth makes a cozy home for bacteria to thrive.
  • Your gums are full of blood vessels that can quickly move bacterial infections like gum disease into other parts of your body.
  • Gum disease is a sign of chronic inflammation, which can contribute to many other systemic diseases.

 

Gum disease is an inflammation of your gum tissue that has many other negative side effects. In order to protect your mouth from gum disease and protect your overall health, it’s important to know your risk factors and to ask your dentist about prevention. Here’s what we know about gum disease and other diseases:

  • In the case of diabetes, studies show a clear association between periodontal disease (gum disease) and a rise in blood sugar. But on the bright side, treating your gum disease is likely to also improve your blood sugar levels.
  • If you have either gum disease or heart disease, you’re at a much greater risk of having the other. Each of these diseases leaves similar bacteria in your blood.
  • Women may be at an increased risk of developing gum disease during pregnancy because hormonal changes make it harder for them to fight off illness. Gum disease in pregnancy has also been linked to low birth weight, which is a negative symptom for newborns.
  • Because your mouth is a part of your respiratory system, improving oral care can help treat and prevent respiratory problems and lung disease.

Daily brushing and flossing are incredibly important for keeping your teeth and gums healthy. But if you have gum disease, it’s important to treat the infection, which means more than just brushing and flossing or scaling and root planing. Family Dental Health can prescribe a special rinse to get your infection under control.

Oral Health & Stress

Occlusion is the resting position of your teeth and jaw when it’s closed. If your teeth cross over each other in an unhealthy way, you have malocclusion. Malocclusion (also called a bad bite) is the number one reason people are referred to the orthodontist. A bad bite can cause problems with speaking and breathing and cause chronic pain in your jaw known as TMJ.

Any or all of these issues can cause you stress and prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. And as we know, sleep is very important for maintaining good overall health. If you think your oral health is getting in the way of you catching those zzz’s, talk to Dr. Case. Chronic snoring or sleep apnea is another oral-systemic link associated with numerous diseases, that your dentist can help with.

Social Confidence

While the oral-systemic link is usually a medical term, we think that your social and emotional health is just as important as your physical health. Your confidence and personal satisfaction in life can be greatly impacted by how healthy and clean your smile is.

One study showed that a whiter smile led to more job offers, higher salaries, and even a better chance of getting asked on a second date. If you’re shy about your smile for any reason, talk to your dentist about all the ways that improving your oral health can improve the rest of your life, too.

If you have any health problems that you haven’t shared with your dentist, make an appointment at Family Dental Health today. Don’t wait to get your oral health and total body health on the right track.

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

 

The post Can Bleeding Gums Cause a Heart Attack? appeared first on Family Dental Health.



from Family Dental Health https://fdhealth.com/can-bleeding-gums-cause-a-heart-attack-2/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an...
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH ...
Read more