Local orthodontist: The surprising impact of poor oral hygiene on overall health

It's a common misconception that good oral health is more about self-esteem and a winning smile than about keeping your whole body healthy and strong. But the truth is that healthy teeth and gums are absolutely crucial to your overall health, and not just in terms of fending off cavities, bad breath and the next throbbing toothache.

In addition to the well-known role of neglected teeth as a contributor to issues like low self-esteem and social anxiety, it turns out many studies show that poor tooth and gum health can have serious, harmful effects on multiple parts of your body. That includes potentially contributing to heart, brain and metabolic issues.

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Some of the conditions linked to poor oral hygiene and dental health include:

Headaches and neck pain

As anyone who has ever experienced recurring headaches or long-term neck pain knows, the pain can be fairly debilitating. One contributor to these issues that many people don't consider, however, is the way their teeth and jaws meet — also called "dental occlusion."

When your upper and lower teeth don't fit together well — issues collectively known as "occlusal" problems ― that misalignment can contribute a host of problems, including recurring headaches, tooth breakage, premature tooth loss, neck pain, temporo-mandibular joint pain in the structures that allow your jaw to operate and more.

During regular dental checkups, your dentist can often detect and take steps to correct jaw alignment problems. That can potentially help alleviate issues caused by dental occlusion.

Mental health

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which makes it a good time to mention the growing number of studies linking poor mental health with poor oral health. A 2021 study in the journal Frontiers in Oral Health looked at the associations between mental/emotional health, oral health and access to oral health care.

The study found that visiting a dentist in the past year was more common among study participants whose mental health was categorized as good. Researchers in the study also found what they called "significant association" between dental issues like premature tooth loss and decayed teeth and a host of common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD.

Whether poor oral health is causing mental health issues or vice versa is still being studied, but the connection between the two appears to be there.

Cardiovascular disease

As with Alzheimer's disease, studies have shown a link between the bacteria related to poor oral health and various forms of cardiovascular disease, a group of issues involving the heart and blood vessels. According to research by Harvard University, those with gum disease have two to three times greater risk of having a serious cardiovascular event, including heart attack and stroke. Research into the link continues, but the increased risk appears to be due to widespread inflammation caused by the bacteria associated with periodontal disease entering the bloodstream.

Rheumatoid arthritis

A painful autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis develops when a person's immune system attacks healthy cells. Those who suffer from it routinely have joint inflammation and chronic, sometimes debilitating pain.

Though research into the connection between rheumatoid arthritis and oral health is ongoing, it appears there is a link between the condition and the oral bacteria associated with poor dental hygiene and gum disease.

A 2010 study published in the Journal of Periodontology found that patients who had rheumatoid arthritis were twice as likely to have gum disease as those who didn't, and that those patients who had severe periodontal disease were more likely to have severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

Many of the conditions mentioned above are uncommon, and the links to oral health are still being studied. But if you think what's going on with your teeth and gums has nothing to do with your overall health, you're probably incorrect.

So take the steps necessary to keep not only your body healthy, but also your teeth and gums. In addition to maintaining a bright and healthy smile, you might reduce your risk for serious health problems later.

Dr. Brad Mokris is co-owner of Coastline Orthodontics, with locations in Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach and Macclenny.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Studies show connection between dental, physical and mental health