The Peculiar Sight of Dental Diseases and How it Contributes to Our Overall Health

By Keisha Jade D. Luib

Introduction to Dental Diseases - Why Do We Have to be Aware? 

  Iceberg-shaped, possesses the hardest part of your body, contains a substantial amount of calcium salts, did you guess it? The home to 300 types of bacteria, like streptococcus mutans, we sometimes forget to brush it 2 or 3 times a day? You guessed it right, our mouth. The discussion about oral health has been underestimated as individuals tend to forget the significance our oral health plays in our whole body.  In this article, we would be discussing and exploring the wonders of oral-related diseases and acknowledge the perilous pathways that it may result in if we do not pay close attention to oral health. In this article, we will be dividing the pathways into three different components, the introduction of well-known dental diseases, the tremendous impacts it plays in our mouth and the long-term or short-term effects it places on our overall health. 

Periodontitis - The Common Source of Infection by Poor Oral Health 

  First and foremost, let us take a glimpse into the wonders of periodontitis, a common form of disease that individuals can carry. According to the site Nature, it has mentioned that approximately 11% of the world population carries severe periodontitis, affecting 743 million individuals on the globe. Hence, it is advised that we must take this disease in immediate action. Periodontitis can start from the occurrence of gingivitis, which is the earliest stage of gum disease. This is recognizable when plaque and bacteria forms into your teeth and causes an infection and consists of gum inflammation where there is red and bleeding gums, bad breath, high tooth sensitivity and et cetera. In this case, the treatment is reversible with high chances of tender gums being fully recovered. On the contrary, if being left untreated, it would lead to irreversible damages to your bones and tissues that support your teeth, resulting in periodontitis. You might wonder how this may affect our overall health, well this detrimental infection can take a toll on your health by substances spreading to other areas of your mouth and other parts of your body, increasing the potential risk of heart diseases, stroke or diabetes. 

Xerostomia -  Not Enough Saliva from the Salivary Glands?

  Having dry mouth, insufficient amount of salivary being present? This may be a sign of being diagnosed with xerostomia, ranging from 0.9% to 64.8% in the general population. Xerostomia is often due to aging, side effects of certain medicines such as antihistamines, analgesics, benzodiazepine or radiation therapy for cancer. While suffering from xerostomia, it could result in discomfort, interference with speech and swallowing, makes placing dentures become a hassle and so on, as xerostomia simply decreases the oral pH and the increase in bacterial growth such as fungal organisms. By the presence of a  dry mouth, it could lead towards oral candidiasis and accelerating enamel erosion, because of the perilous acids on the teeth, further resulting in dental cavities and painful root canal infections. As infections worsens or cavities increase in size, it leads to an infection known as abscess that can spread in your body. Despite being rare or uncommon, it unfortunately leads to the chances of death. In addition to that shocking discovery, likewise with periodontitis, tooth decay can risk chances of heart disease and further weaken your immune system. 

Malocclusion -  Crooked or Irregularities with our Teeth Structure? 

 I’m sure tons of individuals faced the dilemma of asymmetrical face shapes with their crooked or unbalanced teeth structure. Nevertheless, this does not only affect our delicate facial structures but rather creates alterations with our cheekbone prominence, forming hollow-looking cheeks for a period of time, if being kept up without orthognathic surgery or other related treatments. To my astonishment, untreated malocclusion can definitely be harmful as it can worsen with age by the density of our jaw bone begins to reduce and shrinks in size, causing horrible overlapping and crowding of teeth as we grow old. Admit this, no one can deny that having irregular facial structures because of the misaligned bite, malocclusion, would bring discomfort when chewing food or speaking to your acquaintances. Hence, this not only affects the way we perceive our facial structure but also affects our overall health by comfortless mastication and communication, making daily tasks challenging to do. 

Conclusion - How Can We Deal with our Oral Issues?

 As simple as the alphabet, words from our incredible dentists are truly something to keep in mind — keep good oral hygiene! Some of the effective ways to maintain great oral health is to brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice or thrice a day for about 2 minutes for the prevention of tooth decay, unwanted plaques or other bacterium that may spread around the tissues of our gums or teeth. To dive into the chemistry that is set in this concept, fluoride enhances tooth remineralization by enabling the rapid growth of fluorapatite crystals on the partially demineralised sub-surface crystals in the carious lesion, which plays a pivotal role in restoring strength and function within the tooth structure, with the formation of calcium phosphate molecules for the tissues of the teeth. Apart from this tip, it is advised to use dental floss or special brushes to clean sides or small components of the teeth that could be offered by a dental professional, such as interdental tools, which are small brushes made of filaments attached to a coated wire with a rounded tip for comfort and promotes the protection of gums. Last but not the least, make sure to have routine check-ups and professional cleaning from dental professionals. I’m sure most of us had our last dental check-ups back in our elementary years, yet we tend to neglect the fact that we must be aware of the progression of our oral health even as adults or teenagers, which serves a “so-called” start of a danger zone for our well-being. By attending routine check-ups for teeth, it allows your practitioner to assess your teeth, observing if there is any damage with your gums and oral cavity, allowing earlier treatments and preventions for the worst case-scenarios in our oral health.

Bibliography, Citations : 

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