It's easy to ignore the effects of poor oral hygiene because they're hidden in your mouth. But gum disease produces a bleeding, infected wound that's the equivalent in size to the palms of both your hands, says Susan Karabin, DDS, a New York periodontist and president of the American Academy of Periodontology.
"If you had an infection that size on your thigh, you'd be hospitalized," Karabin says. "Yet people walk around with this infection in their mouth and ignore it. It's easy to ignore because it doesn't hurt ... but it's a serious infection, and if it were in a more visible place, it would be taken more seriously."
You may think that the worst consequence of poor dental health would be lost teeth and painful times in the dentist's chair. But a growing body of evidence is linking common oral problems to illnesses including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, premature birth, osteoporosis, and even Alzheimer's disease. In most cases, the strength and exact nature of the link is still unclear, but they suggest that dental health is important for preserving overall health.
"We need to educate the public that the mouth isn't disconnected to the rest of the body," says Sally Cram, DDS, a periodontist in Washington, D.C., and spokeswoman for the American Dental Association.
(Do you visit your dentist for regular checkups? Why or why not? Talk with others on WebMD's Dental Health: Support Group board.)
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