Can Gingivitis Kill You? How Poor Oral Hygiene Can Affect Your Overall Health : When it comes to our health, a strong smile is worth a lot more than just good looks. Yes, keeping our teeth and gums clean is a part of any essential hygiene regiment. But there are also other considerations to keep in mind as well.
Developing a gum disease due to poor treatment of your teeth can become a serious issue. Poor oral health can really produce diseases like gingivitis, and these diseases may have more serious outcomes than you would initially assume.
Can gingivitis kill you? How does poor oral health threaten your well-being in other ways? Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
Can Gingivitis Kill You?
If oral health isn’t one of your primary concerns, it should be. That’s because poor oral health can lead down a dark path that could eventually result in some life-threatening possibilities.
What is gum disease? It’s an infection in the tissue and bones that support the teeth in your mouth. Common symptoms of gum disease include swelling, bleeding, and excessive pain in the mouth.
Gingivitis is an early stage of gum disease. It is caused by the build of plaque on teeth, and plaque is a film created by germs and bacteria. Plaque is impossible to avoid, but it is important to brush away if you hope to have healthy, happy teeth.
If not brushed, plaque can harden and calcify to form tartar, which is a substance that is much more difficult to remove than plaque. The presence of these germs and bacteria will likely infect your gums. Gingivitis is a generally non-threatening form of gum disease and can be treated.
That being said, worsening gingivitis will progress to periodontitis, which is a more severe form of gum disease. This can cause your teeth to become misaligned, loosened, and rot. It also increases the risk of health problems such as heart disease, strokes, and certain cancers.
So to answer the question at hand? Gingivitis probably won’t kill you. But if not taken care of properly, it can lead to conditions that certainly could.
Other Health Issues Caused By Poor Oral Health
Gingivitis isn’t the only thing that can develop from a failure to keep up with your oral health. A number of other medical situations might arise as well.
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Dementia
Can your teeth really affect your brain? It may sound crazy, but it’s true. Substances that are released from the gums enter the bloodstream and can easily impact brain function. These infections can actually kill brain cells, leading to serious memory loss.
Dementia can be the ultimate result. In fact, gingivitis is actually one of the main causes of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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Diabetes
Another disease that might arise from poor oral health? Diabetes. Those that have the disease already have to struggle with the fact that they are more susceptible to oral health problems. But the relationship can work in the inverse as well.
Periodontal issues can make diabetes incredibly hard to get a hold on. This is due to the fact that gum diseases can make blood sugar levels hard to regulate. It can cause massive spikes or falls in blood sugar levels.
This impact on blood sugar means those without diabetes might develop it as a result of their bad oral health.
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Pregnancy Complications and Infertility
Pregnant women must deal with a number of changes in their bodies during the months leading up to birth. That being said, a focus on good oral hygiene is strongly encouraged during this time.
That’s because hormonal changes in the body can cause oral infections to develop much easier than they would on a normal basis. These kinds of infections also pose a greater risk to the unborn child. Gum diseases have been known to contribute to premature birth or low birth weights in newborns.
Poor oral health can also have an impact on a woman when she is trying to get pregnant. Poor oral health leads to many hormonal issues in women, and thus poor oral health can actually make it harder to successfully conceive.
If you are trying to get pregnant, having good dental health is an important first step.
Fighting Poor Oral Health
It’s important to maintain strong oral health in order to combat these potential health issues as well as many others.
Proper brushing of teeth can help to remove plaque that can harden and lead to these diseases. Flossing can also remove bacteria from between the teeth that might not be able to be reached with a brush.
Having straight teeth can also help to improve oral health. Teeth that are uneven or bunched up can be harder to remove bacteria from. As such, getting adult braces can actually help to limit the chance of developing gum disease.
It’s important to see a dental health specialist on a regular basis in order to ensure that your oral health is strong. Failure to maintain proper oral health may not always lead to death, but it can lead to a number of potential maladies that you’d likely rather avoid.
Understanding Oral Health Problems
So can gingivitis kill you? Directly, the odds are low, but it’s worth understanding how gum disease can lead to a number of more serious health issues. Practicing strong dental health is the only way to ensure you’ll be happy and healthy for the years ahead. If you need a recommendation, you can sort out gum diseases with the dentist in Midtown to prevent oral diseases from impacting your overall wellbeing.
Need more wellness advice? Check out our blog for more.
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Can Gingivitis Kill You? How Poor Oral Hygiene Can Affect Your Overall Health
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