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How Does Poor Oral Health Affect Your Stomach?

A human body is a complex machine, which is comprised of several systems that depend upon each other in order to function properly. If you think that you have kept your teeth and gums in a healthy condition then give it a second thought! A good oral hygiene is not only about keeping teeth and gums healthy, it is also essential for your overall health too. Your mouth is an important part as it acts like a gatekeeper of your entire body. Your mouth decides and controls how much everything is going to affect your body. If your oral health is not on right track then it can end up affecting several other orangs of your body too.

Now a question might arise in your mind whether a damaged oral health can have a negative impact on your stomach’s health? Well, the short answer to your question is “yes.” If left untreated then it can lead to several stomach issues such as leading to infection and infiltration in your bloodstream.

A poor oral health can have a havoc effect and can end up resulting in several other health problems too. Such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney problems and so many other health issues. Today in this article we would be discussing how your oral health has got a connection with your stomach’s health. 

There are several digestive problems such as acid reflux, constipation or irregular bowel movements. Digestive problems mainly occur due to several issues includes not chewing the food properly or eating food too quickly. As mentioned above your mouth is the gatekeeper of your body, and this is the place where the physical and chemical digestive process begins. This means the conditions of your teeth and gums can have a direct impact on your digestive health too. Your mouth is part of your digestive system. Similarly, gastrointestinal disorders can have an effect on your oral heath too.

There are many people who suffer from the problem of acid reflux, and this can have an adverse effect on your oral health. The acid present in the stomach will end up wearing your tooth’s enamel away and if such as situation takes place your dentist can recognize this immediately and can advise you with further medications.

At first let us know what are primary causes of rotting teeth, are and how does it effects the stomach.   

What Causes Rotting Teeth?

There are several different types of bacteria that resides in your mouth. With the passage of time this bacteria ends up creating a film over the teeth and can end up causing dental plaque. Consuming foods which consists of high sugars and carbohydrates this gives a golden chance to the bacteria present in your mouth to feed upon these carbs and sugars. When these bacteria produces an acid which ends up wearing away the tooth enamel the harder layer of the tooth present outside.

When this situation occurs cavities begin to form in our teeth. Cavities are a severe problem which occurs on the surface of the tooth and opens into large crevices below the tooth enamel. These cavities may appear black or brown.

After a cavity has formed, our tooth is essentially ‘open’. This means that the dentine, the bone-like matter that sits underneath the enamel, becomes exposed to bacteria and plaque. Because the dentine is soft, it tends to decay quickly once the bacteria makes its way. 

When the dentine gets affected, then bacteria can easily reach to the pulp of your tooth. If such a situation occurs it can cause serious problem, as the pulp of the teeth is the innermost layer of the tooth which consists of blood vessels and nerves which provides the teeth with sensation.

When the bacteria successfully paves its way and reaches the pulp it can cause severe pain and intense pain. During this point of tooth rotting, your tooth and gums becomes much more vulnerable to diseases and infections.

What are the symptoms of plaque teeth?

Tooth decaying, Changes in the gums, such as pain, bleeding, or pus and bone loss, discolored patches on the teeth, cavities, pain in tooth, bad breath, unpleasant taste in the mouth, sensitivity in tooth, abscesses, headaches, gum diseases.

If you notice that the bacteria gets infiltrated in the pulp of your tooth, then you are at the severe risk of developing gum diseases. If the bacteria gets infiltered in the pulp of the tooth, then you are prone to develop gum diseases too. Today decaying can cause infection to form in the gum when bacteria enters that area.

Other than that gingivitis occurs which is a mild form of gum disease. The symptoms of gingivitis includes sore, red, and bleeding gums. If this situation is left untreated, then gingivitis can turn into periodontal disease, which is a more severe presentation of gum disease. If this situation occurs it can cause severe pain, pus, bleeding, tooth wobbling, and if the condition gets severe then it can lead to tooth and bone loss too.

Infection in the pulp of the tooth is also known as an abscess.

A tooth abscess is a pocket of pus which forms either at the tip of the tooth root or in the gums at the side of the tooth root. Symptoms include a throbbing toothache that may spread throughout the head, tooth pain or sensitivity, fever, swelling of the face, swollen lymph nodes around your jaw or neck, and a foul taste in your mouth.

How can plaque teeth affect your gut?

There is a direct connection in between your gut health and your oral health. There are a millions of good bacteria with resides throughout your digestive tract. The microbes helps in influencing your digestion, immune system, metabolism, and hormones. Several researches have shown that these microbes can even play a role in your daily moods and emotions. Your dentist will be most concerned with an imbalance in your microbiome that can affect your oral health.

It is not something new that there are thousands of bacteria which usually leaves in our mouths, and whenever we swallow the foods we end up swallowing thousands of bacteria. Though it might sound gross but the truth is there are other good types of bacteria which helps in protecting good bacteria which causes several oral diseases.

Whenever there is an imbalance of bacteria in the mouth, and when there is too much of bad bacteria in comparison to good bacteria then these bad bacteria not only affects your teeth but these bad bacteria also affects your stomach’s health too. 

If you do not take care of your oral health, then bad bacteria thrives in your mouth. Whenever you consume food you end up swallowing too many bacteria and this can eventually effect your digestive system. Studies have also shown a clear link between oral disease and systemic disease, with oral pathogens linked to rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Can bad oral health cause stomach problems?

Plaque teeth has got a link with several stomach related problems. If you are not having a healthy mouth then it could end up leading to two main stomach issues such as inflammatory bowel disease and digestive irregularities and both of these problems arises due to the results of plaque teeth.  

If the case gets severe such as untreated tooth decay and infection then sepsis may occur, which are present with gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.

Unhealthy mouth and IBD:

There are two conditions which falls under the IBD banner; first is Ulcerative Colitis and second is Crohn’s Disease. Both of these conditions are present as inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Studies have shown that there is an overgrowth of harmful foreign bacteria in the stomachs of those who are suffering from IBD. It was also seen that gum inflammation also results into inflammation in stomach and this in turn creates a detrimental effect on the over health.    

There are two main reasons due to which the bacteria present in the mouth can end up worsening your stomach’s health. Severe gum disease can end up creating can imbalance in mouth’s microbiome and this in turn leads to the increase of bacteria that leads to gum inflammation. This bacteria reaches down the stomach and ends up causing inflammation in the area.   

Stomachs can usually resists the buildup of harmful bacteria, but the increasing amounts of this bad bacteria can misbalance the health of the stomach enormously by killing the healthy bacteria. If a situation like this occurs then it ends up weakening the ability to fight against the disease causing bacteria.    

If you are more prone to gum diseases then it can activate the immune system’s T cells in our mouths. These cells then travels down to the stomach, where these cells can exacerbate stomach inflammation massively.

Oral health and digestion:

Digestion starts the moment after you begin to eat or drink. In fact, your salivary glands jump into action at the mere sight of food. These salivary glands helps in breaking down food in our mouths and this is done by secreting enzymes that chip away at starches and fats. These enzymes then lubricate food from the esophagus to the stomach and help to continually break down food particles through the digestive process.

Without functioning, healthy teeth, we cannot adequately tear, grind, and chew our food properly for further digestion. If we swallow food that hasn’t been chewed properly, then the larger food particles enter the digestive tract, and this in turn can cause issues such as gas, bloating, constipation, and food reactions.

Rotted teeth often cause pain or sensitivity, which makes chewing very difficult. In many cases, rotted teeth also change the function of our bite. In other words, rotted teeth also prevents us from chewing and breaking down our food before we swallow. This often results in digestive discomfort.

Can a Toothache Cause Diarrhea?

Not all toothaches become serious health concerns and diarrhea is not a common symptom which is associated with toothaches.

However, diarrhea can be a sign that your tooth infection is spreading through the body via your bloodstream.

If tooth decay is the cause of your diarrhea, then it may be accompanied by other symptoms such as: headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, dizziness, flushing, face swelling, very dark urine, rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, and stomach pain.

FAQ’s:

#1. Does oral health affect the gut?

The oral microbiome might have a great effect on the health of the gastrointestinal system. This has been reported in dental and medical journals of high impact.

#2. Does your teeth affect your gut?

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and digestive irregularities are the two main stomach issues which arises due to the results of rotting teeth. In cases of severe, untreated tooth decay and infection, sepsis may result, which can present with gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.

#3. What role do teeth play in digestive system?

Your teeth are also part of the digestive process. Teeth break down food for swallowing and further digestion. The incisors, which are located in the middle front of the lower and upper jaws, cut and gnaws the food into smaller pieces. The molars, in the back of the mouth, grind and chew the food further for a better digestion.

(05/23/2024)
by Smile Craft Dental

More Information: https://www.smilecraftdental.com/how-does-poor-oral-health-affect-your-stomach/

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