Your mouth can tell you how healthy you are!

Published on July 18, 2007 By foreverserenity In Health & Medicine

I read an online article, "Watch Your Filthy Mouth" on MSN Health & Fitness today. I thought it was an interesting article and wanted to share because it's something that not everyone thinks about, linking the condition of your mouth, teeth, gums to your health.

My mom as always told me that and I've even repeated the same thing to my kids - don’t' we all do that?lol - and it's something of concern to me given my five year old's dental operation a couple of years ago...seems like yesterday - and of course each of us having a continued need for dental care.

Look out for problems that can develop because of:

Dragon Breath

Sometimes having bad breath isn't because of your mouth, it's from outside sources. Would you believe your sinus is the likely suspect that causes this to happen to you? I couldn't believe that when I read it!

According to the article, [quote] “Inflammation of your nasal passages can be caused by allergies or a chronic infection, and can breed bad breath in two ways. First, a stuffy nose forces you to inhale and exhale through your mouth. This dries up saliva that would otherwise kill bacteria, the source of most bad breath. Second, post-nasal drip is a potent producer of halitosis. "Mucus flows down the back of your nose and onto the back of your tongue," says Mel Rosenberg, Ph.D., a microbiologist at Tel Aviv University. This accumulating slime feeds bacteria, which in turn breed volatile sulfur compounds, the chemicals that create foul oral odor. " [end quote] Now that makes a whole lot of sense! The remedy for this is to gargle with mouthwash before going to bed. See the article link below for more recommendations!

Cold Sores:

Anyone who has ever had a cold sore know how painful they can be! If you've never had the misfortune to have one, consider yourself lucky! The article mentioned that cold sores that are just regular/normal are not as bad or problematic as those caused by the Herpes virus. I should consider myself lucky! Stress is one of the factors of people getting cold sores so having your stress under control is good. There were recommendations to see an hypnotist who would help you to de-stress. Yoga and exercise will help as well!

Bleeding Gums :

If you have blood on your tooth brush on a regular basis, there is cause to worry. You could have a major infection! Plaque on your teeth which leads to tooth loss as well as other serious health risks such as heart and pancreas problems! Sugar is a major factor here and eating less of it will begin the process of lessening your risk for those diseases!

Sensitive Teeth :

This can be a problem as well. That means that you are having problem with the acids in your body which can also be due to heartburn. The acidic reaction from your heartburn can move to your mouth and erode the enamel on your teeth. Too much heartburn can lead to other more severe problems. The recommendation is to drink less soda and more water!

Did you know you can develop skin cancer on your lip? If you constantly have a sunburn lip, which happens when you do not protect your lips, even when you're driving, this can develop into skin cancer. So use those chopsticks people! We ladies are lucky because we like to wear lip gloss or lipstick!

Have you taken a good look at your tongue lately? Is it discolored, have a bump, rash? There are some things to be aware of, for example, using a tongue depressor to take a good look, scraping your tongue regularly to clean it as well. The article mentioned that even if you don't feel pain, always inspect your tongue to make sure your mouth is healthy!

I'm linking the artilce below.

Link

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Comments

foreverserenity

on Jul 18, 2007

I have none of the problems listed here--i must be healthy as a horse!

Good for you!

(a very decrepit horse, that is, one that's been rode hard and put away wet far too many times, hehe.)

Watch your filthy mouth!

! [imagine me with that Orbit gum & glistening teeth as I laugh!]

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