While I was sitting in the hygienist’s chair for a semi-annual dental cleaning, my eyes caught a chart on the wall. It showed the human body and all the health conditions affected, or caused, by gum disease.

I was convinced this was a great topic to write about.

Just as routine medical exams can help prevent future health problems, and dental exams are equally important. The evidence shows that an infection from periodontitis, or gum disease, can put you at risk for other serious conditions like heart disease, stroke and more!

What you may not realize is that oral health is not just important for maintaining a nice-looking smile and being able to eat corn on the cob. Good oral health is essential to quality of life. Consider a few of the reasons:

• Every tooth in your mouth plays an important role in speaking, chewing and in maintaining proper alignment of other teeth.
• A major cause of failure in joint replacements is infection, which can travel to the site of the replacement from the mouth in people with periodontal disease.
• People with dentures or loose and missing teeth often have restricted diets, since biting into fresh fruits and vegetables is often not only difficult, but also painful. This likely means they don’t get proper nutrition.
• Most men and women age 65 and older report that a smile is very important to a person’s appearance.
• And maybe most important, recent research has advanced the idea that periodontal disease is linked to a number of major health concerns such as heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and diabetes.

Fifty percent of all people over the age of 18 have at least the early stage of gum disease, gingivitis. Three out of four over the age of 35 are afflicted by gum disease at one time or another.

You should be aware that the early stages of gum disease occurs without pain! Yet, your gums and bones may be silently and seriously damaged by an infection that spreads from your gums to other parts of your body! Also, perfectly healthy teeth can eventually become loose and fall out.

More than half of older patients do not understand taking certain medications may affect the health of their mouth. For example, many medications, including diuretics, may reduce salivary flow. Dry mouth can cause increased plaque buildup, which increases the risk for periodontal disease. In addition, some calcium channel blockers may cause the gums to grow over the teeth.

Dental infections do go beyond your gums:

Stroke: A new study of fatty deposits lodged in the carotid arteries of stroke sufferers shows that 70 percent contain bacteria—and 40 percent of those bacteria come from the mouth.

Heart disease: Bacteria get mixed up with blood-clotting cells called platelets, forming a clump that travels through the blood vessel and may promote the formation of heart-stopping blood clots.

Lungs: It has been shown that those with extensive tartar buildup and plaque on their teeth are at risk for chronic lung disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia.

Diabetes: One study showed that diabetics with gum disease were three times more likely to have heart attacks as those without gum disease.

Spontaneous pre-term births (for women): Women with gum disease are seven to eight times more likely to give birth prematurely to low-birthweight babies. Researchers believe that a low-grade infection, often from gum disease, may be linked to pre-term birth.

Women who are menopausal or post-menopausal may experience changes in their mouths. Recent studies suggest that estrogen deficiency could place post-menopausal women at higher risk for severe periodontal disease and tooth loss.

In addition, hormonal changes in older women may result in discomfort in the mouth, including dry mouth, pain and burning sensations in the gum tissue and altered taste, especially salty, peppery or sour.

Bone loss is associated with both periodontal disease and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis could lead to tooth loss because the density of the bone that supports the teeth may be decreased. More research is being done to determine if and how a relationship between osteoporosis and periodontal disease exists.

To keep your teeth for a lifetime, you must remove the plaque from your teeth and gums every day with proper brushing and flossing. Regular dental visits are also important. Daily cleaning will help keep calculus formation to a minimum, but it won’t completely prevent it. A professional cleaning at least twice a year is necessary to remove calculus from places your toothbrush and floss may have missed.

The good news is that gum disease is easy to prevent by main taining basic oral health steps.

See a periodontist if you or your dentist notice problems with your gum tissue. Problems may include:

• • Bleeding gums during brushing
• • Red, swollen or tender gums
• • Gums that have pulled away from the teeth
• • Persistent bad breath
• • Pus between the teeth and gums
• • Loose or separating teeth
• • A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
• • A change in the fit of your dentures

Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one.

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible.

Glenn Ellis lectures and is an active media contributor nationally and internationally on health related topics, including health education and health promotion particularly relevant to the African-American community. E-mail him at info@glennellis.com