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 HEALTHY MOUTH, HEALTHY BODY By Sheila Wolf, RDH (Excerpt from her book “Pregnancy and Oral Health: The critical connection between your Mouth and your Baby”) We often take our mouths for granted; yet our mouths are the essence of our humanity. Aside from the obvious, breathing, eating, chewing, and swallowing, our mouths are the way we communicate to the world. We smile at each other, speak gentle words of love, convey our feelings for one another, sigh a breath of relief, cry out in joy or in pain, chew, taste, kiss our beloved, express our sexuality, and communicate our deepest thoughts with facial expressions. The mouth is often what impacts a stranger on a first impression. A smile invites -- a frown deflects. We see youth and vitality in a set of gleaming, lustrous teeth. There is so much that "speaks" to us when a healthy, fresh smelling, kissable mouth gives us a "hello." There is a wealth of information we see in the mouth even before we hear the utterance of words. In Chinese medicine, the mouth is an important indicator of the health of the body. The mouth is also a portal of entry to the body and an important structure of survival. If the internal coverings of the mouth, the literal "skin" of our cheeks, gums, tongue, etc., are broken or compromised in any way, the mouth becomes a conduit through which bacteria, viruses, and other threatening invaders make their way into the inner sanctuary of the body. The body’s automatic response to these intruders is inflammation, the process that separates and protects us from both the invaders and any tissues they may have infected. That is how healing begins. Unfortunately, when inflammation becomes long-standing and chronic -- as is often the case in a periodontal infection -- it can do harm to the body. It is actually the body’s inflammatory response and not the bacteria per se that causes the loss of bone around the teeth. Toxic byproducts from bacterial infection also enter the bloodstream where they do harm. According to the February 23, 2004 issue of Time magazine, “…when inflammation goes awry, it can lead to heart attacks, colon cancer, Alzheimer’s and a host of other diseases.” This has suddenly become a fascinating new area of medical research and validates a growing body of evidence linking mouth infections with the health of the rest of the body. “Oral Health is integral to general health. You cannot be healthy without oral health,” says the Surgeon General in his 2000 report, Oral Health in America. Recent studies indicate that as many as four out of five Americans suffer from some form of gum disease. While many have only the early forms such as gingivitis, these relatively mild gum infections often lead to periodontitis, which attacks the tissues and bone that form the very foundation for your teeth. Periodontal diseases, now known as periodontal infections, put your very teeth squarely at risk. Sufficiently advanced, these bacterial infections will cause teeth to become loose, or even to fall out altogether. In fact, 60% of all lost adult teeth are victims, not of tooth decay, but of these insidious gum infections.
By teaching generations of patients the correct techniques, recommending the most effective tools, and expanding oral hygiene to include a campaign of antibacterial "warfare" that will rid the body of infection, I have helped them to keep their teeth, improve their health, and avoid costly and invasive surgeries that other professionals recommended, often after calling their condition "hopeless." My regimen is based on holistic principles and teaches a simple, economical, ten-minute-a-day program of self-care that will enable you to enjoy good health for both yourself and, if you are pregnant, your baby as well. The body has an inherent ability to make itself well. By removing the microorganisms that cause infection, we create an environment where the body can naturally heal itself. By addressing the underlying causes of the infections, acknowledging that this is a whole body problem (since the body is affected by all its systems), and removing obstacles to health and recovery you can take an active role in your own health. What is available to you is to keep your natural teeth for your lifetime, and to achieve optimum health and wellness for your mouth and your body. From there, oral health and well being become available to your unborn baby, your children, and their children as well.  Sheila
Wolf, known affectionately as “Mama Gums,” is a dental
hygienist and oral wellness expert and coach with over 30 years
experience in non-surgical periodontal care. She is the author of two
award-winning books: Pregnancy and
Oral Health, a guide for mothers-to-be on how to care for
their
mouths and promote a healthy pregnancy, and Your Mouth Could Be Killing You,
a
guide for the rest of us who want to keep our natural teeth, avoid gum
surgery, and just possibly add years to our lives.Sheila has written health articles for professional magazines, newsletters, and online publications and has been the subject of interviews by the San Diego Union-Tribune, ePregnancy Magazine, and other publications. She has saved thousands of teeth considered "hopeless" by other dental professionals, and has transformed her patients' relationships with their mouths and their whole body health. Her website is www.mamagums.com. |
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by Sheila
Wolf... |