The mouth and teeth reveal a lot about us, not only in terms of aesthetics but also in terms of health. It is a part of our body that is not an isolated unit, but on the contrary, is closely connected with the rest of the organism.
It can be said with exaggeration that if we give our oral cavity the right care, we are actually proving service to our entire organism. Like other parts of our body, our mouths are full of bacteria, both harmless and, say, less friendly. Ideally, our oral microflora remains in balance. Our immune system, a healthy diet, a proper lifestyle and, last but not least, adequate oral hygiene help us to achieve this compliance to a large extent. Conversely, a diet rich in sugars, along with poor care for our teeth, can lead to gingivitis and tooth decay.
Inflammation in general and therefore gingivitis are burdensome for our body. On the one hand, they weaken our body in general, but they also contain inflammatory deposits with a lot of bacteria. These bacteria then spread throughout the body when eating or brushing their teeth and can cause or accelerate the development of other serious diseases, such as arteriosclerosis, or subsequent heart attacks and strokes. Furthermore, periodontitis can worsen the development of diabetes. Patients with diabetes lose teeth faster and people with chronic inflammation are more likely to develop diabetes. Inflammatory deposits enhance the insulin resistance of cells, while high insulin levels promote inflammation. To make matters worse, gingivitis is also likely to contribute to depression, reduce fertility, and be associated with low birth weight and premature births. [1]
Proper care of our teeth is definitely in place. So what can you do for yourself?
- Avoid eating sugar. The bacteria in our mouths taste the same as we do. After ingestion, they produce acid many times more corrosive than with a “sugar-free” diet. This extremely acidic environment then disrupts our tooth enamel.
- Drink plenty of fluids. Plenty of fluids (preferably drinking ordinary water) ensures proper salivation, which is essential for teeth. Saliva contains a significant amount of minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron and copper. They are able to neutralize PH in the mouth and subsequently remineralize tooth enamel. Frequent drinking of soft drinks or water with lemon is not appropriate.
- Reduce smoking or better, don’t smoke at all. Toxins in cigarettes impair the effectiveness of saliva. In addition, the carbon monoxide contained in cigarette smoke also promotes the growth of dangerous bacteria.
- Follow preventive examinations at the dentist and dental hygiene and consistently perform daily oral hygiene. Its goal is the best possible removal of dental plaque. Neither paste nor mouthwash will do the job for you. Our new helper in this effort can also be our ionization brush IONICKISS, which has proven to be up to 48% more effective in removing plaque.
[1] NISCHWITZ, D. How to Healthy Teeth. © 2019 by Mosaik Verlag a division of Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH, München, Germany. Translation © 2020 Rudof Rezabek.
Great thanks for expert consultation with dental hygienist Mrs. Silvia M üllerové .