6 Ways Oral Hygiene Affects The Rest Of Your Body

Your dentist has been nagging you to brush twice a day and floss daily for as long as you can remember -- and while those habits, along with regular cleanings, are key components to keeping your teeth and gums healthy, it turns out that how well you take care of your mouth could actually affect your entire body.

"Your mouth is the gateway to your body -- and it's not a very pristine gateway," HuffPost blogger Deepak Chopra wrote on the topic last month. "It's filled with bacteria -- in fact, there are more bacteria living in your mouth than there are people on earth."

In the past month alone, two new studies have come out about the surprising effects of poor oral care on the body as a whole. So we rounded up just a handful of the research out there on this mouth-body connection. Here are a few reasons of why brushing up on oral hygiene may help to keep the rest of your body in shape:

1 of 6

Reduced Risk Of Premature Birth

1 of 7

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

A new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found an association between the use of a non-alcohol antimicrobial mouth rinse in pregnant women and a decreased rate of delivering babies prematurely. Analyzing 226 women with periodontal disease, the researchers found that study participants who rinsed twice-daily with the mouthwash were about three fourths as likely to deliver early, reports Reuters. While the study didn't look to find the reason for the difference, lead author Marjorie Jeffcoat of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine told Reuters that one theory is that gum-disease-induced inflammation could trigger early birth. (The publication also points out that the researchers used a Crest mouthwash, with staffing and funding from the brand's parent company, Proctor and Gamble.)

10 Ways 10 Days of Silence Will Blow Your Mind

Inspirational Quotes: Inspiring Words For The Month Of May

Weight Loss Success: Caroline Jhingory Challenged Herself With Exercise And Lost 150 Pounds

Do You Have An Attitude Of Abundance? YOUR Tweets!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Lower Alzheimer's Risk, Study Suggests

Fast Eaters May Have Higher Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

A new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found an association between the use of a non-alcohol antimicrobial mouth rinse in pregnant women and a decreased rate of delivering babies prematurely.

Analyzing 226 women with periodontal disease, the researchers found that study participants who rinsed twice-daily with the mouthwash were about three fourths as likely to deliver early, reports Reuters.

While the study didn't look to find the reason for the difference, lead author Marjorie Jeffcoat of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine told Reuters that one theory is that gum-disease-induced inflammation could trigger early birth. (The publication also points out that the researchers used a Crest mouthwash, with staffing and funding from the brand's parent company, Proctor and Gamble.)

comments(9)

Total comments: 9 | Post a Comment

1 of 7

This Reason

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Not convinced I'll start brushing!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Reasons

loading...

Top 5 Reasons

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[captvict]

07:48 AM on 09/20/2011

thank you...great article...Vic


NY Help

[sophie M]

06:07 PM on 08/05/2011

Then is it not amazing that ORAL CARE:
in not considered HEALTH CARE?
one must have a separate policy............for oral?
amazing.
WHY?

[Shirley33]

02:50 PM on 08/02/2011

We all know that brushing and flossing twice a day is the right thing to do, but somehow it takes a back seat to our busy schedules! I know that I'm guilty of it too. While, brushing is a great start I believe that actually going to the dentist is just as important. I have many friends that have stopped going to the dentist because of the economic downturn, thinking that this is one thing that they can save money on. I do not agree! Look at all the issues that neglecting the care of your mouth can cause. This is one of my favorite dentists www.atlantasmiles.com!

[Jeff19598]

05:50 AM on 08/02/2011

Well! At least I am glad to know, that this affects only half of Humankind: I have nothing to worry about, then! Because if it did, it is for sure that the other half would have at least be vaguely mentioned. This sad state of things proves the horrendous unfairness of Life towards women. But I am suprised, to say the least, that children were not even mentioned? Jung, with his archetypes, puts us on the right track, and mainline American Feminism, so concerned with building a society that will make the World as a whole a better place, and so fair, in its analyses and conclusions, will no doubt deplore that the sad effects of poor oral health affects only women. Ah, the Virgin Mary! Ah, Isis! Ah, my saintly mother!

[CountHvonT]

11:41 PM on 08/01/2011

yeah, I told my kids; " you dont need to brush ALL your teeths , just the ones you want to keep."
:)

[surfette72]

06:53 PM on 08/01/2011

Oh please. I chuckle at the ill-fated attempts waged upon us by the ADA claiming all kinds of "health risks" if we choose not seek dental care. If it was THAT crucial, we would have known by now. Hell, we would have known decades ago. Did we, as a society, really manage to save lives with organ transplants, miracle pharmacuticals, and find ways to manipulate nature so that women could become pregnant at 50 and just simply "miss" the oral health association?? Methinks not. This is nothing less than guilt-inducing propaganda propelled by the dental professionals who are losing revenue because there are at least two generations of adults that contain members whom are terrified of the dentist. Some of them would rather lose their teeth...simple as that. Trouble is, now those very same adults are raising children. I had a loooooooooooong conversation with my children's dentist and told him a little story about what happened to me when I was a child. Funny, my children remember very little about their trips to the dentist today. And that is the way it should be. Newsflash: Going to the dentist hurts. Badly. I've been given general anesthesia for LESS invasive prodecures at the doctor's office. Shame on you ADA. You have no one to blame but yourselves.

[Brad Mehring]

08:11 PM on 08/01/2011

Your argument is that all legitimate scientific findings have already occurred and everything from here on out is made up?

[surfette72]

10:49 AM on 08/02/2011

Nope, that's not what I'm saying at all. I simply mean that dentistry, especially in this country, has been an established, proven science for many decades now. It's also been widely known that we should always "wash our hands" lest we accidently touch our fingers to our MOUTHS. I guess that means we have known for many, MANY generations that the mouth is a super-highway portal of entry for germs into our bodies. Well, that's what they are basing this theory on. Germs get into the body through our mouths and can cause overall harm. Duh. We've known that. Now, suddenly, after all the hapless years of research, beit cardiac, prenatal care, diabetes research, etc. and knowing how germs affect the body via entry through the mouth, they've decided that a woman could be putting herself and her unborn child in danger by not getting dental care??? And if it is THAT critical, where is the super-affordable dental insurance? Should Medicaid/Medicare cover it??

[Kai Ferano]

03:26 PM on 08/01/2011

My mother had told me that my father, who died of a myocardial infarction at age 47 in 1962, didn't brush his teeth! I never realized this, because I don't recall his having bad breath. As an adult I now understand that the bacteria in his mouth, and the inflammation in his gums, most likely led to his heart disease. Way back then we just didn't make the connection.