Our bodies are systems, and as such they act as a whole. Because dentistry is a separate branch of medicine, and has been for years, people tend to separate out their teeth from the rest of their bodies, as if the two are not connected. This is far from the truth! Your mouth, teeth, and gums are connected to your entire body system in many ways! Here are several.
Chewing For Strength
Your mouth is the first step in your digestive system. Have you ever thought about how much you really need your teeth? Without the ability to chew, you would have to only eat soft or liquid foods. This greatly cuts back on nutritional options, and could affect the amount and type of calories that you eat daily. Energy comes from your food. Food is processed to build new cells including muscle cells and bone cells. Strong healthy teeth help you to have a strong, healthy body.
Your Gums And Your Heart
Another way that dentistry affects your entire body is the way that gum health may affect heart health. Researchers hypothesis that the bacteria that build up with a case of gum disease enter the blood stream. Bacteria in the blood are circulated through the body, but tend to attach to vessel walls in the heart, where there are lipid deposits. This accumulation of bacteria can cause malfunctions including blockages, weakened vessels, and heart attacks. Because of this, dentists and doctors work together to prevent heart disease through proper dental care. Dentists clean the teeth and in between the teeth, which helps to keep bacteria counts low so that gum disease does not manifest. Dentists also educate their clients about the importance of flossing, and can even teach them how to floss. Flossing is one of the primary methods for preventing gum disease.
Trauma and Surgeries
After an accident, great care must be taken by the medical professionals in charge of your case. Dentists and doctors often have to collaborate after accidents that result in injury. The care that you receive from your dentist or oral surgeon will impact all of the other care that you receive, and visa versa. For example, if a patient receives a bone graft in oral surgery, they will need to share this in the future as a part of their medical record. The among of pain medicine that a person is on when they are on after an intensive surgery will affect the medications that a dentist prescribes. Dentists and doctors often have to communicated information in order to provide the best care for a patient.
Though we often think of them as separate, dentists and doctors both care for your body as a whole system. Instead of thinking of dentistry as limited to just your teeth, begin to think about the ways that your visits to the dentist help you stay healthy as a whole. For more information about dental care and why it is important, you can visit www.grandlakedentil.com or you can look up Karl Jobst Grove OK, and reach out with your questions!
