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While the connection between oral health and general health is well documented, it\u2019s not generally discussed at well or dental visits. It should be: An April 2022 report <\/a>from The National Institutes of Health found that 90% of adults ages 20 to 64 experience tooth decay, while almost 50% of adults 45 to 64 have gum disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer at Cleveland Clinic<\/a>, says oral diseases have a large association with overall health. Research has shown that there\u2019s an association between your dental health habits<\/a> and whether or not you develop diabetes<\/a>, Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a>, stroke, or heart disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n When we don\u2019t take care of our oral health, says Roizen, dental caries (tooth decay) and gum disease can enter the bloodstream, contributing to plaque disruption in the arteries, or promoting inflammation<\/a> in the brain and other areas of the body. \u201cFlossing your teeth is the equivalent of 8,000 steps a day<\/a>,\u201d says Roizen. \u201cWhich is pretty darn powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2019, the World Health Organization named tooth decay in permanent teeth as the most common health condition in its Global Burden of Disease<\/a> report. Oral diseases affect about 3.5 billion people worldwide<\/p>\n What we often don\u2019t realize is that this isn\u2019t bad just for our mouths, but our bodies. \u201cPeople think of their heads and teeth as disconnected from the rest of their bodies, but they\u2019re not,\u201d says Dr. Maria Ryan, DDS, Ph.D. in oral biology and chief clinical officer at Colgate-Palmolive<\/a> Company. Viewing the body as one connected system helps reinforce how it can influence all areas of wellness and the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene, says Ryan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Naveem Jain<\/a>, founder of Viome<\/a>, a company that builds personalized toothpaste and supplements<\/a> based on a person\u2019s microbiome, compares the human body to a donut. \u201cThere is a tube that goes through us,\u201d says Jain, noting that billions of microbes enter the body through that tube as we breathe. \u201cWhen the protective barrier is broken, you have system inflammation in the body. If you have a leaky gum, it\u2019s the same concept. If our heart is bleeding or even our fingers, we\u2019d be trying to figure it out. If our gums are bleeding, eh whatever. In both cases, all of your microbes have a free path into the bloodstream.\u201d<\/p>\n That path is where trouble starts, says Ryan. It\u2019s no surprise then that in one study, published in Hypertension<\/em>, an American Heart Association journal, found that \u00a0people with gum disease were twice as likely to have a heart attack and three times as likely to have a stroke than those without inflammatory gum disease. \u201cPeople think, \u2018What\u2019s the worst thing that can happen? I can lose a tooth,\u2019\u201d says Ryan. \u201cWell, it could be worse than that.\u201d<\/p>\n If the prospect of developing heart disease<\/a> or diabetes<\/a> isn\u2019t enough to get you to the dentist, maybe the idea of looking good will. After all, dental hygiene is also front and center in all of our human interactions. If you\u2019re self-conscious about bad breath or missing teeth, it might affect your ability to move through the world with confidence. \u201cThat can impact someone\u2019s ability to get a job, or their relationships,\u201d says Ryan. \u201cIt\u2019s important on so many levels.\u201d<\/p>\n And weak teeth can impact the way you\u2019re able to address more mundane aspects of your health. Ryan uses the example of a healthy diet. If a physician recommends eating more fruits and vegetables to a patient with poor oral health, the patient may feel stuck eating foods such as apples, carrots, and broccoli if missing teeth and cavities are a factor, Ryan says.\u00a0<\/p>\n When all of these factors impede a person\u2019s ability to be social and engaged on a personal level, their mental health can suffer. One 2022 study documented<\/a> the connection between poor oral health and increased anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n A big part of addressing the oral health crisis is prevention and education, says Ryan who leads Colgate-Palmolive\u2019s five-year, $100 million Know Your OQ<\/a> (oral health quotient). It aims to shift some of these statistics and increase awareness on the importance of simple and consistent oral hygiene.\u00a0<\/p>\n The American Dental Association and WHO recommend six basic steps for preventing gum disease:\u00a0<\/p>\n It might seem like really basic information, says Ryan, but if everyone was doing it the stats on oral health wouldn\u2019t be what they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Tien Jiang, a practicing dentist who teaches oral health policy and epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, says she takes every opportunity she can to weave education into her interactions with patients so her approach is more preventative than reactive whenever it can be. \u201cJust like high blood pressure<\/a>, with a lot of dental diseases or concerns\u2014for instance, an early cavity\u2014you can\u2019t feel anything,\u201d says Jiang. \u201cYou might not feel anything until it\u2019s advanced. You can have a patient come in and a dentist diagnoses five cavities and they\u2019ve been feeling fine.\u201d<\/p>\n But at that point, the situation has turned urgent and the patient is in tremendous pain\u2014especially in the case of periodontal disease, says Jiang. To add insult to injury the patient now also faces a steep dental bill to cover care and save the tooth. \u201cWe have an uphill battle,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want to diagnose but there\u2019s always a suspicion that the dentist just wants to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n From Ryan\u2019s perspective, this makes education and normalization of these ideas critical to shift the trajectory of how we frame and prioritize our oral health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Relatedly, she says, knowing where to get dental care could also be a barrier. Aside from dental practices, dental schools offer cleanings, as well as federally qualified health centers (FQHC). \u201cNot just preventative strategies, but also the signs and symptoms so if they have disease they go and get it managed. There are so many places to get care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThink of the body as a human donut<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Poor oral health can also impact our confidence<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to protect your oral health and overall well-being<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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