Who among us doesn’t dread their yearly dental appointment? You either escape with minor scraping on your gums, or you’re told you need work done to return to good oral health. It would be so easy to completely ignore your oral health as you age, but we are here to tell you why that would be a mistake.
Healthy teeth and gums not only keep your smile bright, but they are important for overall senior health. Many people might not realize that oral health directly impacts your body’s overall health. Your oral health or lack thereof can be directly related to heart disease, pneumonia, diabetes and the obvious-gum disease.
Research has shown a direct link between gum disease and heart disease. Good oral health is a great warrior against heart related occurrences such as stroke, heart attack and other common heart disease. Pneumonia is another sickness that has been previously linked to oral health. Breathing in the harmful bacteria spread from unhygienic oral health, seniors are inhaling it directly into their lungs, leading to infection.
Other obvious diseases include teeth darkening, gum disease, dry mouth and root decay. It is important that even as our loved ones and we age that these simple steps such as brushing our teeth do not fall to the wayside. It’s the little things that make all the difference