For years, you’ve heard how important it is to brush your teeth at least twice a day and to floss daily. Do they pay off? Cleaner teeth! Fewer cavities! Those are really good reasons to keep up good habits for dental cleaning in South Tampa, but do you need more persuasive arguments? Cavity prevention is not the only health-related benefit of diligent teeth cleaning near you. Here are four more that might surprise you.
Improved heart health
A study reported in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology concludes that good oral hygiene habits are connected to a decreased risk of heart failure and atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat). What’s the connection between brushing, flossing and heart health? Neglecting your oral hygiene increases the number of bacteria circulating throughout your body which can lead to inflammation. Chronic inflammation is associated with a wide range of serious diseases, including diabetes, cancer, arthritis, Crohn’s disease and heart disease.
Because inflammation interferes with the heart’s ability to pump and distribute blood throughout your body efficiently, good dental hygiene habits that may avoid increases in bacteria throughout your body may contribute to good heart health.
Lower risk of lung infections
What’s the connection between your lungs, teeth and gums? Poor dental hygiene allows bacteria in your mouth to flourish — for better and for worse. While many bacteria are beneficial for and essential to your good health, that’s not true for all of them. Many bacteria present in your mouth can cause diseases throughout your body — including in your lungs and even in your brain. Bacteria — beneficial and potentially harmful, alike — is easily inhaled into your lungs along with particles of saliva. There, bacteria that originated in your mouth can develop into lung conditions such as bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), pneumonia and emphysema.
To avoid increasing your risk of developing those types of lung conditions, you can reduce the proliferation of harmful bacteria in your mouth by brushing twice daily and flossing daily as well as occasionally using an antibacterial mouthwash.
Good oral hygiene contributes to healthier pregnancies
At any stage of life, your mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria. Hormonal changes in your body — including during pregnancy — affect and changes the risks associated with those bacteria. Pregnant women, for example, are at greater risk of developing gingivitis, the minor form of gum disease. Gingivitis itself can be reversed as simply by recommitting to proper dental hygiene habits. If not reversed, though, gingivitis can progress to serious and chronic periodontitis. Periodontitis will eventually destroy gum tissue and jaw bone matter.
The same bacteria that contribute to serious periodontitis can also affect a fetus while still in a pregnant woman’s womb. A 2010 study called “Periodontitis: A risk for delivery of premature labor and low-birth-weight infants” in the Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine found that the presence of gum disease in a pregnant woman’s mouth increases the risk of experiencing a premature or low-birth-weight birth. If you are or plan to become pregnant, be sure to let your dentist know so that you can be as proactive and prepared as possible to prevent and eliminate any gum disease.
Chronic periodontitis may increase a man’s risk of erectile dysfunction
If the first three unknown benefits of good oral hygiene habits didn’t surprise you, does this one? A July 2017 report published in the Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences found that men suffering from severe chronic periodontitis were more than three times more likely than men with healthy gums to also suffer from erectile dysfunction. The connection between periodontitis and erectile dysfunction appears to lie in the body’s inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation is caused by serious damage to endothelial cells that line all the blood vessels in your body — including blood vessels in a man’s penis.
If you’re persuaded of the importance of good oral hygiene and concerned about the state of your teeth and gums, get in touch with a dentist in South Tampa to identify and address any issues that may exist. After all, maintaining clean teeth and healthy gums with the help of a dentist near you can keep help you achieve a healthy heart, healthy lungs, safer pregnancies and more fulfilling sex life.