In the fast moving era we live in, it is of utmost importance to take care of our health to perform well in the race we push ourselves into. One significant reason for the growing health consciousness which we induce in ourselves is that, it contributes to natural beautification as well, apart from being fit. Gone are those days, when the human race worked to live and lived to work, and that itself made them hale and healthy. People had fewer complaints about health problems, especially about their teeth, skin, eyes, heart etc. The reason behind this is undoubtedly the food and work habits. In the hunt for finding ways to be healthy and fit, you will find that oral hygiene is significant enough to impact the overall health of the human body.
Effects of oral hygiene on the rest of the body
- Poor oral hygiene leads to dental problems like plaque, tartar and tooth decay. It does not end with these. A less hygienic mouth is prone to also other problems such as dry mouth, bad odor, enamel erosion, mouth ulcers and the like.
- Plaque, a film of bacteria which consistently grows, when left unconcerned is under a high risk of building up into a more thick layer called tartar. This tarter is sure to infect the gums.
- Eventually, tooth loss starts as gum infections intensify. Surprisingly, this leads to respiratory problems, since the bacteria easily make their way to the lungs thus infecting both of them. For people over 80 years of age, poor oral hygiene may cause aspiration pneumonia.
- When gum problems in diabetic people are untreated for a long time, several complications are more likely to occur. For instance, poor gums are prone to external bleeding which never shows signs of stoppage in diabetic people. Thus it is important to realize that gum and tooth diseases are long term parasites, especially when they occur in diabetic patients.
- It can be surprising to know that oral hygiene has a greater impact on pregnant women. Researches show proven results that a pregnant woman with neglected oral health has higher changes of bearing a fetus with developmental diseases like ear infections, asthma, behavioral disorders etc. There is also a high risk of delivering a pre-mature baby or underweight baby.
- A decayed tooth when left untreated for a very long time may even affect your eyes and brain as well. A bad oral hygiene in an elderly person might pave the way for stroke.
- Most of all, the oral soft tissues like those of the tongue, inner walls of the cheek, gums etc., are most affected by an ill and infected mouth. This causes a high risk for all forms of oral cancer and unfortunately the post-treatment effects are mostly facial disfigurement.
Tips to maintain a fine oral health
- It is an open truth that brushing twice a day is the first step in maintaining a hygienic mouth. But this is just not enough as the human teeth structure needs more intricate attention like oil pulling, flossing twice a day, rinsing with mouth wash etc.
- It is important for pregnant women to use non-alcoholic mouth washes, as it is found that conventional alcoholic mouth washes increase the risk of pre-term birth of the baby.
- After every meal or junk intake, it is a must to rinse your mouth well.
- Use tongue cleaners while brushing in the morning as this would remove odor causing bacteria and thus reduce the growth of worms, if present, in the stomach.