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We aren’t the only ones who think there is no overall health and wellbeing without oral health. The Economist Impact paper published February 2024 brings into focus the importance of oral health not only for health but also for the economy. Read it here.
This is not the first time Economist has highlighted the importance and cost of oral disease. In June 2021 they published Time to take gum disease seriously: The Societal and Economic impact of periodontitis (gum disease).
These are PREVENTABLE.
The relationship between your oral and general health is more closely related than you may think.
Oral health is an essential part of everyone’s wellbeing. It impacts on our ability to eat and speak, as well as our self-esteem. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the relationship between oral and general health.
Whole body Health
“Dental Oral health has often been isolated within health systems in many countries, separating the mouth from the body and underestimating the importance of oral health for general health. Many oral diseases share common social determinants and modifiable risk factors with the most common noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), making oral health a key indicator of overall well-being. In recent decades, evidence and understanding of systemic disease and the distribution of dental pathogens throughout the body has increased”. The FDI World Federation
Learn more about the FDI’s Whole Body Health project.
Growing Smiles offers help and support to people experiencing a range of diseases and conditions both in the way of oral health coaching and also in the options to support personal oral care via our online shop. So many people are living with conditions that impact their oral health either from impacting the ability to maintain oral care at home or side effects of treatment/medication. You may need to take extra care of your mouth to maintain your oral health and its key functions of eating, speaking and smiling. We are here to help.
Not sure if you are at increased risk of oral disease? Take our free indicator tool – My Dental Score.
You might have heard that gum disease is related to other diseases in particular diabetes and heart disease. There are many common risk factors for oral disease and the common non communicable diseases of the body e.g. heart disease. Your mouth, head and body are all connected, so it isn’t surprising that there are many links. Take a look at some of the videos that the British Society of Periodontology have produced to learn more. Start with the great video shared from the Dutch VMTI – The Mouth – a reflection of our health.
Have you thought about your mouth and how it relates to not only oral health but also your overall health and well being? Watch this short video from Public Health England 2019 explaining the links between oral and general health.
The Mouth Body connection is well explained on this Radio 4 Programme featuring world class experts on oral systemic links.
“Other than brushing your teeth every day, how often do you really think about your mouth? That hole in the front of your face is the ideal place to shovel food and drink, but it might be worth giving it a little more consideration. Evidence is increasingly showing that the state of your mouth can have wide-ranging impacts on the rest of your body. An unhealthy mouth can increase your chances of developing dementia, diabetes and other diseases. Why, then, is dentistry and medicine kept so separate, when the mouth and the body are so intrinsically linked? Over the course of this programme, join Caroline Steel as she delves into the world inside our mouths, and unpicks the ways in which better oral healthcare could improve our wellbeing. Along the way, she speaks to Iain Chapple, a professor of periodontology at the University of Birmingham; Dr Zoe Brookes, a dentist and oral microbiome expert at the University of Plymouth; and Dr Graham Lloyd-Jones, a radiologist at Salisbury Hospital“.
Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Executive producer: Jeremy Grange
Many oral conditions have a direct or indirect relationship to other conditions affecting overall health and wellbeing.
Diabetes
Diabetes represents a major public health issue with the NHS spending around £10 billion per year on its care.
Around 3.7 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes, and it is estimated that there could be a
further 1 million people living with type 2 diabetes who do not know they have the condition because they have not been
diagnosed. (Royal College of Surgeons RCS 2019)
Diabetes is recognised risk factor for gum disease. Learn more about the link between gum disease and diabetes here.
Obesity
Obesity is one of the biggest long-term health challenges not only in the UK bt worldwide. the World health organisation reported “About 16% of adults aged 18 years and older worldwide were obese in 2022“. RCS quotes a Health Survey for England in 2019 that 29% of adults are obese with a further 36% are overweight. Obesity can lead to a number of serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Common risk factors connect obesity and oral health e.g. diet high in free sugars.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS), is the only patient-led charity in the UK specialising in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). They recently ( July 2024) invited Professor Iain Chapple to speak live on oral health and rheumatoid arthritis. You can watch here. These links will take you to find out more about the work and support offered by the NRAS for those with Rheumatoid Arthritis and and also Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).
Your mouth is so much more that teeth, gums and smiles! It is a reflection of your overall health. Read about the effects of oral disease on general (systemic) health published in 2017 as a collaboration between General Dentistry and the American Family Physician.
Most oral diseases and conditions share risk factors (such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and an unhealthy diet high in free sugars) common to the four leading noncommunicable diseases (cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. Worldwide non-communicable diseases (NCD) are responsible for over 70% of deaths. Many of these deaths are premature in people under the age of 70. The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a fact sheet about oral health that can be read here.
Health care systems worldwide most often take a ‘repair’ approach rather than a ‘wellness approach to improving health and well being. Being able to assess your risk of developing a disease or condition BEFORE it occurs is the ideal scenario. In such a situation a preventive approach can be taken to avoid the likelihood of disease occurring. For many with an established NCD this may not be possible, but by taking certain steps such conditions can be controlled and managed.
In our post Covid19 era we are all well versed in risk and mitigating for these risks. Reminders to wash our hands thoroughly and frequently, not touch our faces and practice social distancing are all ways to mitigate (reduce) our risk of becoming infected with Coronavirus.
There are some risk factors for oral disease (and NCD’s) that we can do nothing about e.g. family history, but there are ways we can mitigate our risk of developing and limiting the impact of oral diseases. Taking CONTROL of your oral health has many benefits for improving your overall health and your well being.
Find out more about the link between gum disease and general health here.
At Growing Smiles we like to focus on HEALTH, not just oral health or general health but OVERALL HEALTH and WELL BEING. Our aim is to promote health and work with health care systems to promote health and prevent illness. There are many risk factors and lifestyle choices that impact not only our oral but also overall health.
Some risk factors affecting our health and well being we have no control over e.g age, family history. But there are a some things we can do to ‘mitigate’ for these risks and improve our oral health and overall health. Learn more about prevention and risk. Why not take my dental score and find out your risk of oral disease. Find out about MyDentalScore here.
Find out more about Common risk factors for oral and general health through the links below.
Diet and nutrition – It’s not just sugars that can affect our oral health. Eating a healthy balanced diet is important for the tissues that hold our teeth in our jaw i.e. gums and bone. A poor diet lacking in a wide range of minerals and vitamins can increase inflammation leading to bleeding gums and other problems like ulcers, sore tongue etc. Find our more about how diet relates to your mouth here.
Dehydration will impact our saliva flow and our ‘secret helper’ doesn’t help as well as it should or could. Find out more about saliva and dry mouth here.
Eat well, keep gums healthy, live longer. Article by Dental hygienist and nutritionist Juliette Reeves.
Lifestyle factors e.g tobacco, alcohol etc are common to many chronic diseases affecting oral and general health. Find out more about those factors that effect your mouth here.
The British and Irish Society of Oral Medicine have patient information on the following –
