Oral health is a vital building block to overall health. In fact, many issues with oral health can affect other aspects of your body and can cause widespread damage to your body that you may not be aware of. Many physicians also agree that oral health can offer clues about your general health. This is due to the teeming bacteria present in our mouths. For the most part, it’s harmless, especially because regular brushing and flossing keeps the amount of these bacteria down. Gone unchecked, however, harmful bacteria can cause a number of problems, and not just inside your mouth. This is one of the reasons it is so important to find reliable dentists in Hartford County, MD.
Regular oral checkups with dentists in Hartford County, MD are vital to maintaining oral and overall health. When you visit the dentist for your semi-annual cleaning, the hygienist is not just there to clean your teeth with fancy tools and give you a fluoride treatment. He or she is looking for problem areas inside your mouth, including any gum bleeding or recession. They check for sensitive areas within the mouth, the overall appearance of the teeth, early tooth loss, or any signs of infection. The slightest sign could indicate a larger, widespread problem in another part of the body.
Dentists Hartford County MD are trained to watch for these telltale signs, in addition to performing their routine duties. Many people go about their lives ignorant to the fact that they are walking about with a health issue. Many understand that osteoporosis affects bones and causes them to become brittle. It can affect periodontal bone loss and even tooth loss. Early tooth loss in life can be an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease. Diabetes isn’t just a condition that affects a person’s blood sugar levels. It also reduces a person’s ability to fight infection, causing diabetics to develop frequent infections of the gums or the bones that hold their teeth in place. There is a link between mother’s who suffer from gum disease and the low birth weight of their infants and the premature birth of their newborns, as well.
These telltale signs, among many others, are just one of the many reasons it is important to make regular visits to your dentist. A dentist does not only monitor your oral health, he or she uses their knowledge of oral health to ascertain a patient’s general health condition as well.
Kaplan & McGlothlin D.D.S., P.A. are best dentists serving area patients of all ages for more than 30 years.
