Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives

What's happening in the mouth can contribute to conditions elsewhere in the body.

Healthy teeth for a healthy heart?

There's no denying the importance of maintaining healthy teeth and gums. But does your oral health also affect your general health?

How To Avoid The Jaw-Dropping Costs Of Poor Oral Health No Matter How Old You Are

So while a huge segment of the population are improving their smiles and investing billions to do it, there are those Americans, especially seniors, who simply struggle to keep their teeth healthy and prevent other health problems that can arise when oral health is neglected.

If Your Teeth Could Talk ...

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the mouth provides an even better view of the body as a whole.

It's Official! Gargling With Salt Water Actually Works

As for how to best gargle with salt, the researchers provided a recipe. Simply add one teaspoon of salt to one cup of water. Granted, this may not exactly match grandma's advice, but in this case you may have a justification. After all, she's still right, but now you're following the science to achieve the best results.

Maintaining Good Oral Health In Retirement Can Save Your Life And Your Money

Dentistry has come a long way since America’s first commander in chief ostensibly sported a set of wooden teeth. And even that myth has been debunked. According to Smithsonian.com, Washington’s dentures were in reality made from lead, human teeth, cow teeth and elephant ivory.

Maintaining Good Oral Health In Retirement Can Save Your Life And Your Money

Because people are living so much longer today than in just the most recent generation—in some cases three decades or more—Mascarin said a great deal of his practice is dedicated to educating older adults on how to take care of their teeth as they age.

Oral Health and Health Care

Despite great strides in improving oral health, disparities still exist across all population groups.

Striving to End the Oral Health Care Crisis

Without more mid-level dental providers who can extend the reach of the dentist and deliver care to communities in need, ending the oral health care access crisis will be nearly impossible.

The Mouth-Body Connection

Oral health is essential to general health and well-being at every stage of life. A healthy mouth enables not only nutrition of the physical body, but also enhances social interaction and promotes self-esteem and feelings of well-being. The mouth serves as a “window” to the rest of the body, providing signals of general health disorders. For example, mouth lesions may be the first signs of HIV infection, aphthous ulcers are occasionally a manifestation of Coeliac disease or Crohn’s disease, pale and bleeding gums can be a marker for blood disorders, bone loss in the lower jaw can be an early indicator of skeletal osteoporosis, and changes in tooth appearance can indicate bulimia or anorexia.

The shocking state of oral health in our nursing homes, and how family members can help

The recent report of a nursing home resident found with maggots in her mouth brings home how devastating neglected oral health can be. While shocking, this story is far from surprising. Researchers have long highlighted that people living in aged care have substantially poorer oral health and three times the risk of untreated tooth decay than people living in the community.

Using Bacteria to Fight Disease May One Day Improve Oral Health

The premise of using bacteria to combat bacteria isn't new. It's currently being used in another area of the body -- the gut -- to fight off a variety of single and polymicrobial troubles. It has shown promise to combat the potentially lethal Clostridium difficile and also has helped to resolve other gastrointestinal disorders, particularly in children.

Why Bad Breath Is So Hard To Fight (And What You Can Do To Stop It)

At one time or another, most of us have had bad breath. Usually, it's a short-term problem quickly mediated by a good brushing of the teeth and tongue, or popping a mint or stick of gum. But for some, the problem isn't easily fixed; the foul smell continues for weeks, if not months.

Don't Brush Off Mouth Tech As a Passing Fad

It’s easy to bristle at a $200 AI-powered toothbrush, but not for the reasons you might think.

Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America

New research is pointing to associations between chronic oral infections and heart and lung diseases, stroke, and low-birth-weight, premature births. Associations between periodontal disease and diabetes have long been noted. This report assesses these associations and explores mechanisms that might explain the oral-systemic disease connections.

This strange condition makes you feel like you just burned your mouth on hot coffee—indefinitely

You've heard of auditory and visual hallucinations, but what about oral phantoms?

Why many children with autism have oral health problems

Having autism does not mean that a child’s teeth and other facial features will be different. But these children are likely to develop oral health problems for a number of reasons such as unusual oral habits, medications and poor food choices. Difficult behaviours can also contribute to oral problems. These behaviours include head banging, picking at the lips, removing their tooth buds and chewing on harmful objects like stones. These children also prefer soft foods which they tend to pouch at the back of their mouths for long periods of time.

With Age Comes a Mouthful of Trouble

Yet dental health gets more challenging at older ages. Gums recede, exposing roots to decay, and bone loss makes teeth less stable. Older people produce less saliva — particularly because they often take drugs that produce dry mouth — which also leaves teeth vulnerable to decay.