There was a time not so long ago, actually when fixing ailments of the mouth was viewed as the human equivalent of roadrepair work: Fill a pothole here, build a bridge there, and dont fret about the rest of the body.
Historically people felt the mouth was not part of the body, said Dr. Raul Garcia, a health policy specialist at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine. People viewed dental problems as very mechanical decay, wear and tear, a natural part of aging. Now, people are saying, Wait a minute.
An accumulating mass of evidence suggests that the mouth is very much a window into the rest of the body and that the health of our teeth and gums may be a bellwether for life-threatening illnesses. Epidemiologists have shown, for example, that expectant mothers with gum disease are more likely to deliver too early or to have babies that are too small. And patients with advanced gum infections tend to have more plaque in the carotid arteries, the big blood vessels leading to the brain.
With that in mind, researchers have begun to attack the next critical question: Are illnesses of the mouth the actual source of whats happening elsewhere, or merely a symptom of broader health problems?
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/06/08/smile_clean_teeth_are_good_for_your_health/
Historically people felt the mouth was not part of the body, said Dr. Raul Garcia, a health policy specialist at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine. People viewed dental problems as very mechanical decay, wear and tear, a natural part of aging. Now, people are saying, Wait a minute.
An accumulating mass of evidence suggests that the mouth is very much a window into the rest of the body and that the health of our teeth and gums may be a bellwether for life-threatening illnesses. Epidemiologists have shown, for example, that expectant mothers with gum disease are more likely to deliver too early or to have babies that are too small. And patients with advanced gum infections tend to have more plaque in the carotid arteries, the big blood vessels leading to the brain.
With that in mind, researchers have begun to attack the next critical question: Are illnesses of the mouth the actual source of whats happening elsewhere, or merely a symptom of broader health problems?
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/06/08/smile_clean_teeth_are_good_for_your_health/
