‘Do Your Gums Bleed?’ Oral Diseases That Tell About Our Physical Health
When you go to the dentist, you usually only think about taking care of your teeth while forgetting about the rest of your mouth.
But if you do, you could be missing out on valuable information: the health of your mouth can be an easy-to-access and highly accurate indicator of what’s going on in the rest of your body.
Also, maintaining good oral health is key when it comes to keeping your body in tip-top shape.
Professor Nikos Donos, director of the Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London, said during a panel on the EP’s The Evidence that there are ‘some adverts’ in the UK, in which they ask: ‘If your eye bleeds. If you’re drifting, will you ignore it? So why do you ignore bleeding gums?’
‘And yet, there are people who live with severe gum disease and think it’s normal.’
There is considerable evidence that specifically links gum disease or periodontitis to diabetes and heart disease, and more and more studies confirm that good oral health plays a key role in the fight against these diseases. can be one of the most overlooked aspects of
“When we’re talking about connections and associations between various chronic diseases and the mouth with other parts of the body, we see a prevalence of gum disease,” Donos explained.
“We found that gum disease is the sixth most common chronic disease in humanity, affecting approximately 1.1 billion people, which is 11.2% of the total population.”
Gum disease
The Mayo Clinic in the US describes gum disease, or periodontitis, as ‘a serious infection of the gums that affects the soft tissues around the teeth. If left untreated, periodontitis can destroy the bone that supports your teeth. Teeth become loose. Or can sing.
Possible symptoms include bleeding gums, redness or pain, or persistent bad breath.
But apart from damaging the mouth, there is ample evidence that gum disease is linked to type 2 diabetes.
“In fact, we’re currently talking about a bidirectional relationship, which means that patients with periodontal disease have a higher risk of developing diabetes and patients with diabetes also have periodontal disease,” Donos says.
The relationship is so close that there are studies that confirm that good oral care in people with type 2 diabetes can help control the disease in general, easily and without major side effects. Is.’
“A few years ago we did a study that showed that if you treat periodontal disease conventionally, without surgery, these patients have better metabolic control, which is a significant improvement,” Donos says. Which lasted for about 12 months.’
Also on the panel was Dr. Graham Lloyd-Jones, a radiologist at Salisbury Hospital in the UK, who confirmed that the link between mouth and diabetes ‘makes sense.’
‘We must look at the mouth as an immunological organ: if it is compromised, there will be inflammatory processes, including pathogens – bacteria that normally live in the mouth but other parts of the body,’ warns the doctor. , which are responsible for the development and worsening of many of these diseases.’
From mouth to heart
Type 2 diabetes isn’t the only disease linked to gum disease. Because out-of-control periodontitis bacteria travel through the body through the bloodstream, they can affect the heart.
“These inflammatory substances that are present in the body due to periodontitis and that reach the bloodstream can form plaques that can lead to clots that can result in problems ranging from ischemic heart disease to heart failure,” Donos says. Can occur in patients up to seizures.
Any infection can be life-threatening when the mouth’s immunity is low, due to a disease of the immune system or drug abuse. This takes the form of endocarditis.
“Fortunately it’s a rare disease, but it’s an infectious disease in which certain organisms in the mouth get out of control and affect the inner tissues of the heart,” explains Dr. Lloyd-Jones.
’ It is clear that this physical pathway through the mouth, along with pathogens that travel to the rest of the body, is real. Bleeding, which can cause diseases or worsen existing diseases.
‘It is clear that this mouth-to-body pathway, in which germs travel to the rest of the body, is real. Over time, this excess of bacteria that crosses the physical barrier of our mouths is carried through the bloodstream to the rest of the body, causing diseases or worsening existing illnesses.
Relationship with perception
Although the evidence is not as conclusive as previous cases, there are some researchers who are beginning to show what the connection between these bacteria and cognitive decline in old age may be.
One of them is Dr. Vion Shaw from the University of Cambridge, who has shown in his research that people who reach old age with 21 or more teeth have less dementia than those who do not. There are those who have less teeth.
‘Although the evidence is relatively recent, we can say that if you have some kind of dementia and you lose the skill, your ability to brush or floss your teeth may be affected,’ says Shaw. ‘
“It’s also related to the issue of nutrition: if you have fewer teeth, you’re definitely going to have poor nutrition, which leads to more cognitive impairment.”
Lloyd-Jones spoke of a more direct link: ‘There are specific organisms that are associated with the development and progression of gum disease.’
‘One particular organism, known as a gingivalis, is a very interesting organism. It is covered with neurotoxins, which kill nerve cells. But this organism doesn’t just stay in the mouth, it travels through the body beyond our inflamed gums and is found in both the brain and cerebrospinal fluid of people with Alzheimer’s.
For Professor Donos, these relationships between the mouth and various body systems only highlight the importance of periodontal disease prevention.
Oral care
“All oral diseases are treatable and curable to some degree, except cancer, which is a whole different story,” Donos said.
He believes it is important that people have access to good oral health care and that people have a dentist they trust.
This is the way forward. And integrate dentistry and medicine more closely, so that when we go to our doctor, our dentist, they don’t just look at our teeth or our liver, but they look at the body as a system, and the symptoms. can be linked together’.
One particular example where this combination of properties can work is in prenatal care: Dr. Shaw said that because of the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy, the bacteria in the mouth can gain strength and both mother and baby. can endanger.
“We are very concerned because it increases the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, which is why talking to mothers and providing them with appropriate care is an important step,” she says.
For Lloyd Jones, the most important thing is to change the way we think about our mouths: ‘We have to see our mouths as an immune barrier that needs our care’.
Take care of the microbes that live in our mouths and that are born with us and that are there to protect us.