What Your Mouth Reveals About Your Health
A mouth with healthy gums, strong teeth, neutral breath,and a clean tongue often reveals overall good health and hygiene. Also, maintaining good oral health prevents many diseases and disorders from developing in the mouth. The mouth is one of the first places to show symptoms of many illnesses, including diabetes.
Bleeding gums are one of the first symptoms to occur for many blood-related disorders. Periodontitis is a disease that attacks gum and bone around the teeth and is commonly diagnosed alongside many heart conditions. Following good oral hygiene habits and keeping a clean and healthy mouth is directly connected to staying healthy and preventing the development of diseases. Therefore, regular visits to your family dental clinic in Lethbridge is important.
Signs and Symptoms of Oral Conditions
A toothache is one of the most widely known indicators of a patient experiencing oral health issues. This can be a sign of cavities in the mouth, physical trauma to the mouth, and also an early sign of gum disease. Bleeding or sore gums are often a symptom of a bigger issue such as gingivitis. Mouth sores are another dental symptom which can happen due to the presence of bacteria in the mouth or virus infections. Another common symptom of an oral issue is persistent bad breath, which may be a sign of gum disease. Visiting a Lethbridge dentist at the first sign of these dental symptoms helps with early diagnosis and treatment for many oral conditions.
Saliva: A Helpful Diagnostic Tool
Your saliva, the fluid substance created by the salivary glands to provide lubrication and aid digestion is also a widely used as an effective diagnostic tool. While 99.5% of saliva comprises water, it also contains hormones, antibodies, enzymes and growth factors which makes it a good diagnostic fluid. It can help successfully diagnose many oral and systematic diseases including oral cancer, HIV, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. It is commonly used to test drug use as well.
How Saliva Disables Bacteria and Viruses
Saliva has properties which help heal wounds and disable certain pathogens. It is, in fact, one of the main defences by the body against harmful pathogens. Saliva keeps the pH level inside the mouth alkaline, which discourages the growth of many bacteria. The calcium and phosphate ion concentrations in saliva, also help treat small lesions in the tooth enamel as well. The histadins in saliva inhibit the growth of naturally occurring harmful fungus which causes the conditions called oral thrush.
Dental Plaque: Links to Infections and Diseases
Dental plaque is a naturally occurring mass of bacteria that grows on teeth, gums and other surfaces of the mouth. It starts as a colorless sticky deposit and eventually grows to be thicker turning the color yellow or brown. Dental plaque is one of the main causes of dental decay and gum disease. The bacteria grown in the dental plaque produce acids which destroy the protective tissues of the teeth, causing cavities and eventually decay. The dental plaque should be regularly disrupted and removed by brushing and flossing your teeth daily as well as visiting your Lethbridge dental clinic twice a year for a professional cleaning.
The Importance of Oral Hygiene
Good oral hygiene is directly related to good health. It does not simply mean straight and white teeth, but healthy gums and healthy oral tissues including the tongue. Apart from preventing oral diseases such as tooth decay and gum disease, maintaining good oral health indirectly helps to prevent diabetes, heart disease,and many other health issues as well. This is why it is important to visit your dental clinic in Lethbridge regularly.
Plaque: Cause for Common Conditions
The failure to disrupt and clean your teeth effectively and frequently can lead to plaque buildup, and eventually to gum disease. The extreme stage of gum disease is the loss of teeth due to the development of irreversible tooth decay caused by the bacteria in the mouth.
Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and pregnancy issues especially causing pre-term birth are among the most common conditions which seem to have a direct association with serious gum infections. Having diabetes increases the risk of developing gum disease, and then in turn diabetes make it more difficult to treat gum disease as well.
Your Mouth as a Source for Infection
With the warm and moist environment caused by saliva, your oral cavity makes a great breeding ground for harmful bacteria and pathogens. There are over 500 different species of bacteria growing at any given time in the mouth.There is also fungus, protozoal and viral species that can grow in the oral cavity as well without proper care. The antibodies and the alkaline pH level maintained by the saliva prevent the harmful infections to an extent, but good oral hygiene should be regularly practiced, which includes regular visits to a Lethbridge dentist near you.
