Oct 10
5
What Your Mouth Is Telling You ?
When it comes to your gums, teeth and tongue, good and bad hygiene may be indications of existing or future health complications. What’s going on inside your mouth could affect your overall health.
If You Have..
Bad Breath
The obvious culprits to blame for bad or changed breath are eating certain kinds of food like garlic and onions, not drinking enough fluids and/or not brushing your teeth often enough. But your malodor could mean a range of mouth problems including an abscessed tooth, gum disease, tooth decay, a complication with a tooth extraction and/or throat or mouth cancer. Outside of your mouth, bad breath could be associated with sinus troubles, diabetes, digestive disorders, HIV, liver disease, kidney disorders and lung problems. Learn about home treatment for bad breath.
Mouth Sores
Not getting enough iron, folic acid or vitamin B-12 could be to blame for your canker or cold sores. The same holds true for hormonal changes, food allergies and viral infections. These mouth irritations have also been found to occur in people diagnosed with skin infections or diseases, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, chickenpox and oral cancer. Piercings, injury or medicines may also be to blame. Learn more about mouth sore complications.
Clean Teeth
Dental hygiene, combined with overall good health, may help prevent heart valve infection, according a June 2008 American Heart Association (AHA) study. Not brushing or skipping out on other good dental care habits puts you at risk for oral health problems like cavities, abscesses and gum disease, which in turn can expose you to frequent bacterium that may lead to heart valve infection, according to the AHA report.
Missing Teeth
Tooth loss may predict dementia later on in life, according to a study published in the October 2007 of the ‘Journal of the American Dental Association.’ The study’s authors point out that it is unclear whether the relationship is causal and that further studies are needed. Missing teeth may also be linked to head, neck, esophageal and lung cancers, according to an extensive Japanese study published in the May 2008 issue of ‘Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.’
Tongue Changes
There’s a lot to see when you stick out your tongue and say, “Ahh.” Your white, black or brightly colored, furry/hairy, bumpy or groove-filled tongue may be a simple result of tobacco use or consuming certain kinds of foods and beverages, which could be exacerbated by poor dental hygiene. Change in color or shape of your tongue may be telling of a vitamin deficiency, injury or the result of thrush (yeast infection). More severe, but less common, causes of these tongue changes include severe allergies or oral cancer. Learn more about tongue problems.
Dry Mouth
Do you ever find that your mouth is so parched that you have difficulty eating, talking, swallowing or tasting food? You could have a condition called xerostomia, which, if it is a chronic problem, could lead to infection, gum disease and cavities. It is saliva that helps wash foods away and acts to cancel out plaque-produced acids. Other problems associated with dry mouth include a constant sore throat, burning sensation or dry nasal passages. Artificial saliva and/or fluoride products can help prevent further mouth problems, according to the American Dental Association. Speak with a health-care professional about this issue.
Tooth Aches and Tooth Sensitivity
While a common cause for your tooth pain may be a loose or missing filling or a cracked tooth, it could be the sign of cavities, or an abscessed, infected or decaying tooth. Your tooth ache could be a sign of non-dental related problems too, such as a vitamin-B12 deficiency or sinusitis. Consuming sweets, hot, cold or acidic beverages or foods; chewing food or gum; breathing in cold air or brushing your teeth all can worsen the pain.
Jaw Pain
While jaw pain or stiffness may be an indication of an abscessed tooth or wisdom teeth problems — it could be due to a non-dental cause as well. Pain in the upper teeth or jaw could a warning sign for a heart attack or angina — a symptom of coronary artery disease. Stress-induced teeth grinding could lead to jaw pain — a common symptom of temporomandibular (TM) disorders — or conditions that cause complications with jaw movement. Your ache could also mean
cluster headaches are headed your way.
Spotty Teeth
White, gray, brown or black spots on the teeth could be a sign of tooth decay. A facial injury may also cause tooth discoloration. Gray, black or pink colored spots on your not-so pearly whites may be the result of bleeding inside the tooth
article source : http://www.aolhealth.com/2009/11/04/mouth-problems/