Dental Care and Heart Disease

poor dental health can also cause heart disease

Dental Care and Heart Disease

Did you know February is National Heart Month? At stores all across America, you’ll find cute heart-shaped decorations and candy shaped into hearts to celebrate the most romantic holiday of all, Valentine’s Day. It’s fitting that February is National Heart Month, and it’s a good time to discuss heart health and the risk of heart disease. Since Prescott Dentistry is a holistic dental practice, we’re concerned about your overall health. Let’s take a few moments to share some thoughts about caring for your heart.

Heart disease is a group of conditions associated with your heart that can include blood clots, cause portions of your heart to stop working, or create problems within the structure of your heart, among other things. While poor diet and lack of exercise are the most common causes of heart disease, smoking, poor blood sugar, high or low blood pressure, and high cholesterol can also contribute to heart disease.

Did you know that poor dental health can also cause heart disease? Lack of care for teeth and gums can cause gingivitis (gum inflammation) to occur. Gingivitis can allow bad bacteria into your gums that feeds into your bloodstream. Once the bacteria travels through the bloodstream to your heart, it can cause plaque that will stick to the arteries and disrupt blood flow. An unhealthy mouth is also a source of inflammatory proteins that can worsen the situation. Good diet and exercise are extremely important for heart health. Caring for teeth and gums is equally as important. Taking care of our whole body is essential—our mouth included—in order to truly be healthy and avoid deadly heart disease.

Sadly, heart disease is a major cause of death among American men and women. So in National Heart Month, because we love our patients at Prescott Dentistry, we bring attention to factors that can hurt our hearts. Eating healthy, low cholesterol diets, exercise, and keeping up with good dental care are all extremely important factors to maintaining overall health. Don’t miss your dental cleanings. They’re an essential part of caring for your teeth and gums and are instrumental in the prevention of heart disease. In addition to dental cleanings, develop good habits of brushing your teeth a minimum of two times a day for at least two minutes, and flossing daily to keep bad bacteria away from your gums. At Prescott Dentistry, we want all our patients to live long, healthy, and full lives. Care for your teeth today and reap the benefits tomorrow!

Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (11/1/2017) A Healthier Michigan (Flickr)