Teeth: They Do Your Body Good

A doctor should be a patient’s first stop, but dentists also are joining the fight as important allies in the quest to keep people healthy. A bounty of new research shows strong links between the condition of the mouth and overall physical health.

Calling dental and oral disease a silent epidemic, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, released a report in 2000 highlighting the relationship between oral well-being and general health. “The mouth,” he wrote, “is a mirror for general health and well-being, and the association between oral health problems and other health problems.”

Gumming Up: The Heart
Scientists have uncovered strong connections between gum disease and cardiovascular health. It turns out that oral bacteria that cause gum disease are the same culprits in the plaque that leads to cardiovascular troubles. One symptom of gum disease is bleeding gums, which open the door for unhealthy bacteria to enter the bloodstream and clog or swell the heart’s arteries, explains Steve Gorman of the Gorman Center for Fine Dentistry in North Oaks.

People with gum disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as those without. Gum disease also can increase your risk of stroke, according to the American Academy of Periodontology.

Diabetes is another area where poor oral health can exacerbate problems—and vice versa. “If you are diabetic and have gum disease, your ability to control your blood sugar level is lower,” says Marc Montgomery of Montgomery Dental Care in Woodbury. “It also works the other way. If you have diabetes, your gum disease is worse. Diabetics need to make sure they have adequate periodontal health.”

What a Headache!
Scientists established other connections between health issues such as headaches and dental fitness years ago. Clenching and grinding teeth is a major trigger for migraine and other headaches, while additional problems stem from the temporomandibular joint— where the lower jaw meets the skull. These disorders cause inflamed or damaged joints and tight muscles, which can set off headaches. Curbing those triggers with an oral appliance, such as a night guard, often reduces or eliminates headaches, says dentist David Cook of Smiles@France clinic in Minneapolis.

Dental problems also can cause obstructive sleep apnea, where the soft tissues at the back of the throat close off the airway and block oxygen from flowing to the lungs. Sleep apnea can lead to health problems including high blood pressure, an increased risk for heart attack and stroke, depression, and a three-times-greater chance for auto accidents.

Dentist Jonathan Parker of the Snoring and Sleep Apnea Dental Treatment Center in Edina is leading the charge with dental techniques to nip sleep apnea in the bud: Parker has found that many people with sleep apnea have a narrower dental arch or their teeth are tipped, resulting in a “crowded” tongue. In turn the tongue, looking for a place to go, obstructs the airway and impairs breathing, swallowing, and sleeping.

Once a sleep medicine physician has diagnosed a patient and recommended an oral appliance, the patient should go to the dentist. After they fix the crowding with an appliance, Parker says, the sleep apnea—and resulting headaches, drowsiness, and heart problems—tend to dissipate.

It’s gratifying work for Parker and other dentists who know that in addition to keeping their patients’ mouths healthy, they can improve well-being from head to toe.