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Good oral health is not only important to your appearance and sense of well-being, but also to your overall health. Cavities and gum disease may contribute to many serious conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and premature and low weight babies. Untreated cavities can also be painful and lead to serious infections.

Maintaining good oral health includes keeping teeth free from cavities and preventing gum disease. Poor oral health can affect your appearance and self-esteem, and has been linked to sleeping problems, as well as behavioral and developmental problems in children. Poor oral health can also affect your ability to chew and digest food properly.

Good nutrition is important to helping build strong teeth and gums that can resist disease and promote healing.

Smoking is a major risk factor for oral and dental disease, including oral cancer. Tobacco reduces blood flow to the gums therefore, the gums do not get the oxygen and nutrients needed to stay healthy and prevent bacterial infection.

Good oral health needs to be a priority throughout all stages of life, especially since older adults and seniors are keeping their teeth longer than ever before. However, older adults may have less access to good oral health care services and dentists because of lower incomes and/or a lack of dental insurance.

Seniors living in long-term care facilities are at particular risk of complications from poor oral health because of frailty, poor health and increased dependence on others for personal care. In many cases, oral health problems in residents go undetected until there are acute symptoms, such as pain or infection.

Besides pain and discomfort, poor oral health can also contribute to a number of serious health issues.

5 Steps to Good Oral Health

As part of a healthy lifestyle and to help reduce the risk of oral disease, follow these 5 steps to good oral health.

1. See your dentist regularly
Regular checkups and professional cleanings are the best way to prevent problems or to stop small problems from getting worse. Your dentist will look for signs of oral disease. Oral diseases often go unnoticed and may lead to or be a sign of serious health problems in other parts of the body.

Only your dentist has the training, skill and expertise to diagnose and treat oral health diseases and to meet all your oral health care needs.

2. Practise good oral hygiene
Using a soft-bristle toothbrush, brush your teeth and tongue at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque and bacteria that cause cavities and periodontal disease (gum disease).

Floss every day. If you don’t floss, you are missing more than a third of your tooth surface.
When choosing oral care products, look for the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) Seal of Recognition.

3. Eat a well-balanced diet
Healthy food is good for your general health and your oral health. The nutrients that come from healthy foods help you to fight cavities and gum disease.

Drink fluoridated water and use a fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride’s protection against tooth decay works at all ages. Avoid excess sugar. It is one of the main causes of dental problems.

Limit alcohol. Heavy use of alcohol is also a risk factor for oral and throat cancers. When used alone, alcohol and tobacco are risk factors for oral cancers, but when used in combination the effects of alcohol and tobacco are even greater.

Eat wisely. Adults should avoid snacks full of sugars and starches. Limit the number of snacks eaten throughout the day. The recommended five-a-day helping of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables stimulates salivary flow to aid remineralization of tooth surfaces with early stages of tooth decay.

Diabetic patients should work to maintain control of their disease. This will help prevent the complications of diabetes, including an increased risk of gum disease.

4. Check your mouth regularly
Look for warning signs of periodontal disease (gum disease). Gum disease is one of the main reasons why adults lose their teeth. The warning signs include:

• Red, shiny, puffy, sore or sensitive gums
• Bleeding when you brush or floss
• Bad breath that won’t go away.

Look for warning signs of oral cancer. The 3 most common sites for oral cancer are the sides and bottom of your tongue and the floor of your mouth. The warning signs include:

• Bleeding that you can’t explain
• Open sores that don’t heal within 7 to 10 days
• White or red patches
• Numbness or tingling
• Small lumps and thickening on the sides or bottom of your tongue, the floor or roof of your mouth, the inside of your cheeks or on your gums.

Report any of these warning signs to your dentist.

5. Don’t smoke or chew tobacco
Smoking and chewing tobacco are dangerous to your oral health and your overall health.
Tobacco use is a major cause of tooth loss through gum disease and may lead to serious problems like oral cancer. Tobacco can cause heart disease and a variety of cancers.

If you take care of your teeth and gums at home and visit your dentist regularly, your smile should last you a lifetime.

Steps to help your child maintain good oral health

• Establish good oral health habits early. When your child is 12 months old, you can begin using toothpaste when brushing his or her teeth. However, only use a pea-sized portion on the brush and press it into the bristles so your child won’t eat it. And, when the gaps between your child’s teeth close, it’s important to start flossing.
• Serve as a good role model by practicing good oral health care habits yourself.
• Schedule regular dental visits for family checkups, periodontal evaluations and cleanings.
• Check your child’s mouth for the signs of periodontal disease, including bleeding gums, swollen and bright red gums, gums that are receding away from the teeth and bad breath.

The connection between good oral health and overall health

Your mouth is normally teeming with bacteria. Usually you can keep these bacteria under control with good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing. Saliva is also a key defense against bacteria and viruses. It contains enzymes that destroy bacteria in different ways. But harmful bacteria can sometimes grow out of control and lead to periodontitis, a serious gum infection.

When your gums are healthy, bacteria in your mouth usually don’t enter your bloodstream. However, gum disease may provide bacteria a port of entry into your bloodstream. Sometimes invasive dental treatments can also allow bacteria to enter your bloodstream. And medications or treatments that reduce saliva flow or disrupt the normal balance of bacteria in your mouth may also lead to oral changes, making it easier for bacteria to enter your bloodstream.

Some researchers believe that these bacteria and inflammation from your mouth are linked to other health problems in the rest of your body.