Oral Health: The Status in UAE

A smile is the cause of life, radiance, and trust, and maintaining your smile is essential. But how important is the preservation of healthy teeth? Good oral hygiene can help avoid oral problems, such as bad breath, tooth decay, and gum disease, as it helps you keep your teeth safe as you get older.

Nowadays, dentists in Abu Dhabi suggest a full oral check-up regularly, claiming that it is not a privilege but a requirement that all of us ought to comply with. Well, let’s take a sneak look at the value of having healthy teeth and preserving oral health.

Manifestations of systemic diseases (diseases affecting many organs and tissues or the body as a whole) are first seen in the oral cavity. Oral contaminations and systemic diseases, such as diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, etc., are related to oral health.

Tooth decay occurs when an acid attack softens the enamel and dentine (hard, dense bone tissue forming the bulk of the tooth underneath the enamel) of the tooth after you eat or drink something containing sugars. Over time, the acid produces a cavity (hole) in the tooth. Tooth decay is sometimes referred to as dental caries.

The foundation of the tooth is embedded in the bone supported by the gums surrounding it. Consequently, excessive or poor care of teeth and gums can cause bone loss, resulting in teeth loosening from the tooth socket. Inadequate or improper oral hygiene produces a bacterial infection made up of calcium and phosphate salts in and around your gums and teeth. It is created over time when food residue on the tooth has not been adequately washed. This leads to Gingivitis, a non-destructive condition that causes gum inflammation.

Bad breath, bleeding gums, salty taste are typical signs of gum disease. If left untreated, this will cause periodontitis, a severe gum infection that affects the soft tissue and kills the bone that protects your teeth.

Gum Disease and Other Risks in Common Health

Gum (periodontal) disorder and health problems, such as stroke and heart disease, are interrelated. Women with gum disease often have a higher prevalence of pre-term, low birth weight children.

About 90% of all systemic diseases have oral symptoms, including swollen gums, ulcers in the mouth, dry mouth, and excessive gum problems. Such diseases shall include:

Diabetes
Leukemia
Oral Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
Heart Disease
Kidney Disease

Bad oral hygiene can also contribute to other health problems, such as:

Oral & Facial Pain: This pain is caused by gum infections that protect the teeth and lead to loss of teeth.
Heart disorders and other significant organs: Infections in the mouth affect major organs; for example, the heart and heart valves can become inflamed by bacterial endocarditis, which affects people with heart disease or damaged heart tissue.
Digestion problems: digestion starts with physical and chemical processes in the mouth, leading to intestinal failure, irritable bowel syndrome, and other digestive disorders.

Healthy oral hygiene practice tips:

Brush your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes with fluoridated toothpaste.
Floss every day to extract plaque from areas that your toothbrush can’t reach.
Eat a balanced diet to provide the required nutrients (in particular vitamins A and C) to avoid gum disease.
Stop cigarettes and smokeless tobacco that are known to lead to gum disease and oral cancer.
Visit the dentist for routine cleaning and check-ups. This is one of the most efficient ways to identify early symptoms of gum disease.

How important are regular dental check-ups?

Daily dental appointments can not only help you keep your smile appealing but can also give your dentist indications about your overall health. Visiting your dentist regularly will help you know if you are at risk of chronic disease, as the health of your mouth represents the state of your body as a whole. For example, if your mouth is safe, your overall health is also likely to be good. On the other hand, if you have bad oral health, you might have other health issues.

The dental examination can also diagnose inadequate diet and hygiene, growth and development issues, and improper jaw alignment. Generally, a regular dental check-up takes about an hour or less. Doctors also recommend a dental check-up every six months, along with a scaling and polishing method, since it can help diagnose any diseases associated with teeth, gums, or tongues.

Do not hesitate to give your dentist a full medical history and remind him or her of any recent changes in health, even if they seem to be unrelated to your oral health.