Healthy Living Isn’t Just About What You Eat and Drink!

If you ask anyone about healthy living, dental hygiene isn’t often on the list of topics they come up with as a focus. As one of the UK's leading dental insurance companies we would like to remind our blogs visitors that the state of your mouth can be an important pointer to your total health. Here are just a few ways your mouth gives you clues about your health!

• Bad Breath. The obvious things (such as that garlic bread last night) aren’t the only causes – bad breath can be caused by a whole range of conditions from mouth cancer to diabetes, sinus issues, liver or kidney disease, diabetes and lung problems.

• Cold sores. These irritating minor little spots can actually point to other problems as far ranging as food allergies, viral infections, chickenpox, foot and mouth disease and hormonal change. Plus they can indicate lack of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12.

• Losing teeth. Early tooth loss without any obvious cause can point to dementia later in life, some researchers claim. It can also be a sign of cancer of the head, neck, oesophagus or lungs.

• Poor dental hygiene. Yes your Mum was right – you really MUST clean your teeth twice a day, other bacteria that builds up may cause you to you run the risk of heart valve infection (according to the American Heart Association), as well as the more obvious risks to your teeth and gums.

• Toothache. Toothache isn’t just caused by a bad tooth. Other causes can include Vitamin B12 deficiency, sinus issues, or an infection of a facial nerve. Pain in the upper teeth or jaw can also be an important symptom of angina, a heart attack or coronary artery disease.

• Weird tongues. Tongue changes in size shape or colour can show vitamin deficiency, thrush, allergy or even oral cancer.

It’s amazing how old fashioned health ideas are often founded in sound science. The old practise of sticking out your tongue for examination by the doctor could actually reveal more about your health that you had realised, after all! Alternative medicine, and especially homoeopathy and Chinese medicine often examine the tongue as a key diagnostic tool, and often train practitioners in “tongue diagnosis”!