Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. View sample

Oral health: A window to your overall health

Gum disease can let bacteria enter your bloodstream and wreak havoc elsewhere in your body. Or sometimes, signs of a disease may first show up in your mouth.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Although the eyes may be the window to the soul, your mouth is a window to your body's health. The state of your oral health can offer lots of clues about your overall health. Oral health and overall health are more connected than you might realize.

Your oral health is connected to many other health conditions beyond your mouth. Sometimes the first sign of a disease shows up in your mouth. In other cases, infections in your mouth, such as gum disease, can cause problems in other areas of your body. Learn more about this intimate connection between oral health and overall health.

The connection between oral health and overall health

Your mouth is normally teeming with bacteria. Usually you can keep these bacteria under control with good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing. Saliva also is a key defense against bacteria and viruses. It contains enzymes that destroy bacteria in different ways. But harmful bacteria can sometimes grow out of control and lead to periodontitis, a serious gum infection.

When your gums are healthy, bacteria in your mouth usually don't enter your bloodstream. However, gum disease may provide bacteria a port of entry into your bloodstream. Sometimes invasive dental treatments also can allow bacteria to enter your bloodstream. And medications or treatments that reduce saliva flow or disrupt the normal balance of bacteria in your mouth also may lead to oral changes, making it easier for bacteria to enter your bloodstream. Some researchers believe that these bacteria and inflammation from your mouth are linked to other health problems in the rest of your body.

Next page
(1 of 2)
References
  1. Oral-systemic health (your oral health and overall health). American Dental Association. http://www.ada.org/public/topics/oralsystemic.asp. Accessed Dec. 6, 2008.
  2. American Dental Association. Healthy mouth, healthy body. Journal of the American Dental Association. 2006;137:536.
  3. Michalowicz BS, et al. Treatment of periodontal disease and the risk of preterm birth. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355:1885.
  4. Loesche W. Dental caries and periodontitis: Contrasting two infections that have medical implications. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 2007;21:471.
  5. Links between oral and general health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/OralHealth/publications/factsheets/sgr2000_fs4.htm. Accessed Dec. 13, 2008.
  6. Casamassimo PS. Oral and systemic health. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 15, 2008.
  7. Krall KE. Bone health and oral health. The Journal of the American Dental Association. 2007;138:616.
  8. Wilder RS, et al. Gingivitis and periodontitis in adults: Classification and dental treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 15, 2008.

DE00001

Feb. 7, 2009

© 1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger