Why Dental Care is Important

Healthcare literature is full of connections between oral health and systemic health.

Poor oral health has been connected to diabetes control, inflammation of the blood vessels as seen in heart disease, and there is significant data showing a relationship to oral health and dementia.

Linked below are some articles highlighting the connection between oral health care and overall health care:

Oral-Systemic Health - American Dental Association

Periodontal disease has been associated with a number of health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.

While a number of associations have been found between periodontitis and systemic conditions, finding direct causality remains elusive.

Periodontal and systemic diseases share many common risk factors, including smoking and poor diet.

How Oral Health Affects Overall Health - Care Quest

Poor oral hygiene can harm your body as you age:

It can harm your vision. Having higher levels of bacteria in your mouth, losing more of your natural teeth, and experiencing gum disease can all increase your risk of glaucoma.

Delayed dental care in young adulthood makes it more likely that you will develop high blood pressure later in life.

Oral health and diabetes influence each other. While gum disease makes it harder for people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar, diabetes can increase your risk of developing gum disease by 86%.

How Your Oral Health Affects Your Overall Health - The Cleveland Clinic

The Connection Between Oral Health and Overall Health and Well-Being - Caswell A. Evans, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H. from University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Dentistry