Your mouth and body go hand in hand

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Maintaining good oral health is vital to the general wellbeing of the body, a proportion of experts say.

Cindy Fletcher, executive director of the British Columbia Dental Hygienists’ Association, said: ‘All the research reinforces that there is a direct link between the health of your mouth and the health of the rest of your body. We are finding that periodontal [gum] disease can be a significant risk factor for a number of serious health conditions, some of them life-threatening.’

It has been known for some time now that the health of one’s teeth and gums plays a part in their overall health, but still this is an area of health and wellbeing that some leave unattended.

Tracey Cote, President of the Association of Private Practice Dental Hygienists of Alberta, said: ‘If your finger bled whenever you wrote with a pen, you would go to your doctor. So why don’t you go to a health care professional if you are bleeding from the mouth?’

Those who suffer from periodontal disease, a condition closely linked to diabetes, have around twenty per cent more danger of developing cardiovascular disease. Teeth decay is another serious health risk.

And it is not only one’s health that suffers as a consequence of poor oral health. The cost of poor oral health is also rising and in such economic times many people are finding it more and more difficult to attain essential dental treatment.

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