Breath Health and Your Body

A visit to the dentist usually means getting your teeth cleaned, having a tooth pulled, or having a filling replaced. It is also the time when the dentist reviews your breath health practices with you. When a dentist looks in your mouth, they can tell if there are problems which may affect the rest of your body. Also, they will ask you questions that may determine if other ailments are affecting your mouth and may be causing bad breath.

There are a number of diseases and conditions that affect your oral health. Your immune system can be weakened by such diseases as cancer. Chemotherapy is a widely used cancer treatment. The white blood cells are weakened and some are destroyed by the chemicals. The patient becomes more susceptible to infections in the mouth. An antioxidant such as green tea can be effective in inhibiting the bacteria which causes bad breath and other diseases such as cancer.

Drugs used in the treatment of other conditions such as high blood pressure can cause dry mouth. Sometimes your doctor may be able to prescribe another drug in its place. If not, you should take extra care with your breath health. Drink plenty of water. Chew a piece of sugarless gum. The chewing action creates more saliva in the mouth, keeping it moist.

Your breath health affects other medical conditions you may have such as diabetes. Again, an infection in your mouth can aggravate your condition and make your diabetes difficult to control.

Practicing breath health does not eliminate the chance of you having other medical problems. It does, however, give you the opportunity to lessen the extent of the problem to some degree.