Oral Healthand your

overall wellness

Speaking, smiling, laughing,

tasting, chewing and

swallowing— these everyday

functions all depend on and

impact your oral and overall

health.

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O T h e r T O P i c s i n T h i s

s e r i e s i n c l u D e :

Preventive Oral Care for Everyone

Your Oral Health and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Oral Health: Infant to Teen

Your Oral Health and Oral Cancer

Your Oral Health and Lupus

Your Oral Health and Organ Transplants

Your Oral Health and Diabetes

Your Oral Health and Heart Disease

Your Oral Health and Pregnancy

Fluoride and Your Oral Health

Oral Health for Kids with Special Needs

What is oral health?

Your oral health includes more than strong and

healthy teeth. Oral health also refers to the condition

of your:

•upperandlowerjaws

•gumsandsupportingtissues

•chewingmuscles

• roofofyourmouth

•allliningsofthemouthandthroat

• tongue

• lips

• salivaryglands

Inaddition,branchesofthenervous,immuneand

vascularsystemsareinvolvedinprotecting,

nourishingandmovingthesepartsaswellas

connecting them to the brain and the rest of the body.

Oral health also includes the absence of toothaches

andotheroralandfacialpains,oralandthroat

cancers,andaddressesbirthdefectssuchascleftlip

andpalate.

Why is oral health important?

A great smile. Fresh breath. Pain-free teeth and gums.

Thesearetheknownbenefitsofgoodoralhealth.

Butthey’reonlypartofthepicture.Youroralhealthis

essentialtoyourgeneralhealthandwell-being.Infact,

growingresearchsuggestsalinkbetweenchronicoral

infectionandvariousmedicalconditions,including:*

•diabetes

•heartdisease

• respiratorydisease

• stroke

• lowbirth-weight/prematurebabies

Takingcareofyourteethandgumsbenefitsmore

than your smile!

How does oral health affect general health?

Yourmouthisagatewaytoyourbody.Whatyou

putinyourmouth—food,drink,medicationsand

tobaccoproducts—impactsnotonlyyouroral

health,butalsoyouroverallhealthandwell-being.

Attheextreme,poororalconditionscaninterferewith

breathing,eating,swallowing,sleepingandspeaking.

It’sdifficulttoignoretherapidlygrowingevidence

indicatingarelationshipbetweenmouthandbody.*

There’salinkbetweenmouthandmind,too.Self-

image and self-esteem can be affected by oral

healthconditionssuchasbirthdefects,chronicpain,

cold sores, oral yeast infections and cancers. These

conditionscaninterferewithdailyactivities—

working,schoolandsocialinteractions—and

mayresultinlostproductivity,chronicstressand

depression.

Withsomany

connections

betweenyouroral

healthandoverall

well-being,it’snot

surprisingthatthe

mouth has been

called a “mirror” for

what’shappening

inside your body.

Fortunately,

early signs and

symptomsofsome

conditions and diseases can be detected in the

mouth,*andwithsucheasyaccess,salivamayone

day become a medical diagnostic substance of

choice.

Additional related information can be found on the

Websites of the Academy of General Dentistry,

www.agd.org and the American Dental Association,

www.ada.org; and in Oral health in America: A

ReportoftheSurgeonGeneral, 2000.

*Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2000.