Brushing your teeth and regular visits to the dentist not only prevent tooth decay and bad breath. They are key components to preventing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Your Health is in Your Mouth: Oral Hygiene

The state of your gums and teeth are clues for your dentist. They help her determine whether there are significant medical issues o be addressed. Your dentist can discover and identify problems like anxiety and stress, problems sleeping, medical issues and more.

Following are a few issues about your overall health that a dentist can help identify:

1) Poor Diet:

Cavities and stains are a clue to dentists that you are drinking or eating too much sugar or drinks that can damage your teeth. Coffee, energy drinks and cola all can leave stains on your teeth. Sugar causes cavities if left to sit on your teeth. If everyone brushed and flossed regularly – and after consuming these drinks and snacks, the dental risks are smaller.

2) Alcohol Abuse:

Not only can dentists smell alcohol on your breath, but they have found that gum disease (periodontitis) increased with the consumption of alcohol. Higher levels of plaque are also found in drinkers because alcohol slows down the production of saliva and dries out the mouth.

3) Diabetes:

Panos Papapanou, DDS and professor of dental medicine at Columbia University states “Among people that are unaware of whether they have diabetes or not, poor gum status has been shown to be associated with diabetes.”

Your dentist is a key person in helping identify undiagnosed diabetes – ultimately saving your life. Gum inflammation and gum disease is more likely to occur in people who have diabetes.

When you are dealing with your overall health, keep an eye on those teeth. Brush and floss, of course, but talk to your dentist when you go for a visit. Ask if she sees anything that you should be concerned about. Dentists are there for your benefit – and you should take advantage of the time you spend with your dentist.

Take care of your smile and your health!

Let the expert team members at Dental Experts Guatemala answer any questions about your dental health.  Fill out the Contact Us Today form and a qualified dental specialist will contact you to discuss your case.