The relationship between our oral health and our general physical wellbeing is bidirectional and more direct than most may know. Many dentists are aware of the fact that our oral health is often reflective of general health issues, such as the link between Fibromyalgia and dry mouth, but also important is the impact that a person’s oral health has on their general condition.
To illustrate how dental health often has unseen and under-reported effects on the rest of the human body, we’ve made a list of seven conditions which may be directly impacted by a patient’s oral health.
t DD, we always strive to write about upcoming or important developments in dentistry. From reporting on well-known events such as National Smile Month, to creating curated lists of products such as some of our favourite Toothpastes and Endodontic Motors. We also report on internal developments within DD, such as our Planet Mark certification and our updated rules on compliant delivery.
7 – Mental Health
Perhaps one of the more obvious ramifications of poor oral health is negative impacts on a person’s mental health. Patients who suffer from bad breath, or body image issues due to their poor oral health may end up socially withdrawn. Whether this is because they don’t want to risk speaking and exposing their bad breath, or because they feel that smiling or opening their mouth may allow people to see their teeth. This social withdrawal can quickly become a self-sustaining cycle. Poor mental health can make routine harder to manage, and so become a vicious cycle, making dental hygiene and prevention suffer even further. This is all without even mentioning the profound negative psychological impact of chronic or daily tooth pain.
6 – Diet
There’s a lot of research regarding the impact of diet on oral health, but the relationship between the two is bidirectional. Just as diet can impact oral health, poor dental health can make it hard to eat a balanced, healthy diet. Difficulty chewing due to tooth pain, and difficulty swallowing due to dry mouth can restrict a person’s eating, the variety of their nutrition. An example of this might be patients avoiding crisp fruits like apples because of their sharp flavours and potential risk to loose teeth. Another example could be patients preferring processed foods, due to their soft textures, despite the potential negative impact these salty, sugary foods may have on a person’s diet.
5 – Heart Health
Another well-known and documented connection is the link between oral health and cardiovascular health. Whether it’s the risk of infective endocarditis, or the potential association between oral bacteria and heart disease. The spread of bacteria from the mouth of someone with poor oral health can reach vital parts of the body, such as a person’s heart, and do significant damage.
4 – Stroke Risk
A 2019 study discovered that people suffering with gum disease (or periodontal disease) are around twice as likely to have a stroke. Periodontal disease, bleeding, and inflammation causes how our body sends oxygen and blood to the brain. This makes management of gum disease especially important; this is an issue which affects an estimated 45% of the UK population and can get worse with age.
3 – Diabetes Risk
Diabetes is another risk factor for periodontal disease. The body’s ability to control blood glucose is impaired by inflammation from the periodontal tissues escaping into the bloodstream and impacting the immune system. If a person already has diabetes, this makes periodontal disease even more impactful, as this impairing of the body’s ability to regulate glucose can lead to complications, such as hyperglycaemia.
2 – Increased risk of fungal infection
Having poor oral hygiene increases your risk of oral thrush and other fungal infections. Which can cause a loss of taste, unpleasant flavour in the mouth, pain, and a difficulty eating and swallowing. Additionally, oral thrush can spread into other parts of the patient’s body, making it dangerous if left untreated.
1 – Lung Disease
Inhaling bacteria from your oral cavity when your oral health is poor can lead to diseases such as pneumonia. This means oral health becomes doubly important for anyone whose breathing is compromised or is suffering with a respiratory disease.
Signposting For At-risk Patients
It’s difficult to convey through blog form the multitude of changes facing the dental profession currently. Fundamental changes to our diets and lifestyles that include a greater consumption of sugar, fats, alcohol and more makes dentistry a changing field, but one of the greatest changes to our profession is the increasing emphasis on patient education.
We’ve already written an article on how to effectively communicate with patients, and we have a training course for more comprehensive coverage on the topic. However, we’d like to use this space and time to talk about signposting. Effective and efficient signposting is vital for patient care, especially if a patient's oral health is impacting their general physical health. While you have your own channels and protocols for referring patients, if you have a patient who needs help in the meantime, please see our list below of UK Health resources and sites which could help.
Mental Health Signposting -
Mind ‘ Spot, Support, Signpost’
Dietary Health Signposting -
Eat well - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Diet and my teeth - Oral Health Foundation (dentalhealth.org)
Heart Health Signposting -
Join Heart Matters - BHF
NHS England » Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention recovery
Diabetes Signposting -
Diabetes support | How we help | Diabetes UK
NHS England » Healthy living for people with type 2 diabetes
Stroke Care Signposting -
Overview - Life After Stroke Communication Support Service - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Support in your area | Stroke Association
Lung Health Signposting -
Groups + support | Asthma + Lung UK (asthmaandlung.org.uk)
NHS - LungHealth
Citations
Kotronia E, Brown H, Papacosta AO, Lennon LT, Weyant RJ, Whincup PH, Wannamethee SG, Ramsay SE. Poor oral health and the association with diet quality and intake in older people in two studies in the UK and USA. Br J Nutr. 2021 Jul 14;126(1):118-130. doi: 10.1017/S0007114521000180.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8187263
oral-health-and-general-health.pdf (royaldevon.nhs.uk)
Cademartori MG, Gastal MT, Nascimento GG, Demarco FF, Corrêa MB. Is depression associated with oral health outcomes in adults and elders? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Oral Investig. 2018 Nov;22(8):2685-2702. doi: 10.1007/s00784-018-2611-y.
Lisa Lotta Cirkel, Louis Jacob, Lee Smith, Guillermo F. López-Sánchez, Marcel Konrad, Karel Kostev,
Relationship between chronic gingivitis and subsequent depression in 13,088 patients followed in general practices, Journal of Psychiatric Research, Volume 138, 2021, Pages 103-106, ISSN 0022-3956,
Fagundes NCF et al. (2019) ‘Periodontitis As A Risk Factor For Stroke: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis’, Vascular Health and Risk Management (August 2019), available at https://doi.org/10.2147/VHRM.S204097.
British Society of Periodontology (2019) ‘Gum health resources for patients’, online at https://www.bsperio.org.uk/patients/ (accessed November 2019).
Diabetes_and_Oral_Health_jdn022-hodge.pdf (bsperio.org.uk)
