Not Just About Appearances: How Your Dental Health Affects Your General Health

New advances in dental implants, teeth whitening, and other cosmetic dental procedures have undoubtedly created viable solutions for millions unhappy with the appearance of their smiles. It's easy to forget, though, that your dental health is closely linked to your health in general. To learn more about this vital link, read on.

Understanding Dental Inflammation

As medical science advances, much is being learned about how important inflammation is to your health. As you know, your mouth can suffer from several maladies that are both caused by and cause inflammation. For example, gum disease is an infection (or inflammation) of your gum tissues caused by bacteria entering your gums. Bacteria is always present in your mouth but proper oral hygiene and saliva work to constantly remove that bacteria. Things work well until something upsets the delicate balance. Certain medications, dry mouth, cavities, and abscesses can all create the perfect environment for gum disease.

Unchecked Inflammation 

Some may not even realize they have a gum disease like gingivitis or periodontitis. The symptoms are not always obvious. Bleeding gums, pain, and a sore on the gums might indicate gum disease but the best way to detect gum disease early is to not skip those regular dental cleaning and exam appointments. Things can get much worse than a simple case of gum disease if the inflammation goes unchecked, though. That is because inflammation can enter your bloodstream and travel to other parts of your body. Since that inflammation is bound to travel through your heart at some point, things can then get very dangerous.

Inflammation and Your Cardiac Health

It has been known for some time that inflammation can harm your heart. Though much of the research is still being done, medical scientists believe that inflammation acts like sticky tape in your heart, attracting dangerous fatty plaque. Once you have plaque, you can have blockages. Inflammation is also thought to thicken the coronary walls. All of those things can cause heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Anytime your heart is affected by inflammation, your other systems begin to suffer even when you don't have a catastrophic event like a coronary event.

Fortunately, there is much you can do to reduce inflammation and its dire effects. Proteins known as C-reactive is known to play a part in inflammation and you can be tested for the presence of that protein in your blood. Contact general dental care clinics to learn about how to reduce your chances of a body-wide inflammation issue caused by your gum health.