Gum Disease and Oral Systemic Link

Oral Health is essential to our bodies, but most people don’t understand the importance of visiting a dentist once in a while. The health of your gums, teeth, and the oral-facial system is essential. With an excellent dental practice, you can chew, smile, and speak effectively.

But when oral health is ignored, you may experience gum disease, tooth decay, and oral cancer. Since oral health is most of the time overlooked, having accurate information is essential. This article will look at all the aspects surrounding gum disease and the various oral systemic links.

Signs of Gum Disease

Gum disease, also known as Gingivitis or Periodontitis, is a health condition arising from poor oral health. This disease mainly affects your gums, causing them to swell and irritate. Some of the signs of gum disease are;

• Persistent bad breath or bad taste.
• Bleeding Gums, mainly after brushing teeth.
• Red Gums.
• Chronic Inflammation of Gums.
• Experiencing Pain while Chewing.

Link Between Periodontal Diseases and Other Systems

The mouth is an organ connected to the rest of the body. Therefore, poor oral health most of the time is a risk for developing other systemic diseases, in a phenomenon identified as oral system links.

Gum Disease and Speech

Public health experts advise that individuals should not ignore periodontal disease. In severe cases, this condition can destroy the Jawbone and lead to the loss of teeth. When your Jawbone is destroyed and you lack teeth, your speech is automatically impaired. At this point, you will develop a lisp which further inhibits you from speaking correctly.

Gum Disease and the Tongue

A destroyed jawbone will leave gaping spaces in the mouth. This is not a natural state of the mouth, and automatically something will happen to fix this abnormality. The tongues will expand to fill the spaces in the mouth, and they will be larger than average. An abnormal tongue means that your speech will be affected in addition to other aspects.

Gum Disease and the Immune System

The extent to which poor health is incredible; apparently, gum disease is also a risk factor for weak immune systems. The system links between oral health and immune systems are a bit complicated. Gum disease will make the mouth an entry point for bacteria; therefore, the immune system will react by fighting and causing the infection. The problem is that the mouth has a lot of bacteria that act as immune suppressors. When the Immune system fights the bacteria in your mouth, it gets weakened to the point that it can no longer fight for your body.

Gum Disease and Mouth Cancer

Periodontal disease does not cause oral cancer but puts you at a higher health risk of mouth cancer. That is why regular visits to your dentist are essential; the dentist will advise you accordingly. For instance, risk factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and periodontitis will probably lead to oral cancer.

Gum Disease and Swollen Glands

Gum disease will increase the risk of swollen glands because they are closely connected in a system link. The glands are likely to swell because the mouth has issues such as swollen gums. Gum disease leads to the inflammation and bleeding of gums. While swollen gums can occur because of inadequate brushing, and improper tooth care, these reasons also lead to various gum diseases.

When the mouth is riddled with bacteria, the immune system will try as much as possible to fight the bacteria, and the result is that there may be swollen glands. In this case, dental cleaning can be an excellent remedy, whereby a professional will conduct a deep clean to eliminate excess bacteria. Thus, with fewer bacteria, the glands will no longer swell.

Gum disease is not the main reason gums get inflamed; mouth injuries can also cause swollen gums; as the wound heals, the swollen glands will placate. It is essential to consult an expert on whether your swollen gums are caused by gum disease or mouth injury.

Gum Disease Links to Covid-19 Complications

Gum disease has managed to impact almost all the systems of the body. A recent study, “Association between periodontitis and severity of COVID‐19 infection”, concluded that individuals with severe gum disease were likely to suffer from coronavirus complications, and they had a higher likelihood of dying from Covid-19.

Additionally, it was noted that advanced gum diseases are hard to treat; therefore, it is crucial to find help early enough to prevent other health complications, like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Gum Disease and Diabetes

Periodontitis has been identified to be closely linked to various conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The case of diabetes is more openly linked because one of the symptoms of diabetes is a consistently dry mouth.

The reason for the dry mouth is that uncontrolled diabetes causes a high glucose concentration in the mouth, leading to reduced saliva. This instance leads to a breeding ground for bacteria that worsens any present gum disease. Therefore diabetes leads to gum disease and not the other way round.

How Does One End Up with Periodontal Disease

Periodontal Disease cannot be spread through casual contact, but sharing saliva, for instance, when kissing, may increase the likelihood of a person developing this disease. On the other hand, periodontal disease is hereditary, and children of parents with the disease are susceptible to gum disease.

Additionally, various professionals have identified the maternal periodontal disease as a risk factor for low birth weight or preterm birth (PLBW). The reason for occurrence is that the bacteria from the gum disease may lead to inflammatory mediators that cause preterm birth.

Gum Disease Treatment

Gum disease is a severe condition that needs to be carefully approached, just as any condition. The mouth is an essential organ of the body, and thus oral health should be a priority for everybody. Gum disease is associated with almost every system in the body, and as mentioned, advanced gum disease cannot be treated.

The good news is that if gingivitis is identified early enough, it can be reversed. Proper plaque control is an excellent remedy for gum disease treatment and should be done at least twice a year. Additionally, flossing and brushing teeth are required, oral should be an individual initiative, and dentist visits should be just a precaution.

Other predisposing factors like alcohol consumption and smoking should be regulated, as they will also lead to gum disease even if you practice proper oral health care.