Posts Tagged ‘healthy gums’

What’s your Real Age? No, this is not just asking a lady at her birthday if she is really 29 AGAIN. This is about how healthy you are compared to others of your same chronological age.

There are many factors that figure into our Real Age… Diet, exercise, and sleep habits are the ones you’d expect on the list, and they are definitely there. Stresses in your life, and how you deal with them, also play a major part. Even daily habits like how fast you drive, what kind of car you drive, and if you always wear your seat belt are considered.

So are some other daily habits – like brushing and flossing. Yep, they are not only on the list, but it is reported that just daily brushing and flossing can add over 6 years to your life! Another way to say that is it will make your Real Age over 6 years younger than your classmates who don’t brush and floss! I believe that having good healthy gums and teeth without cavities will enhance your life even more.

How does this work? There is fantastic blood supply to the gums and tongue. This is good news, because that helps injuries in those areas heal quickly. But the flip side of that rapid blood flow is that if the gums are infected, you are pumping that infection throughout your body. Think of that… through the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, muscles, and even your brain. Is it any wonder that gum disease is being linked to all sorts of other diseases in the body, including heart disease, strokes, diabetes and even low birth weight babies?

If you lose teeth, for whatever reason, you find yourself in other longevity problems. The more teeth you are missing, the harder it is to eat healthy food. Many foods that might be best for you, like raw veggies or whole grains, might be avoided if you have weak or missing teeth. And if you can’t chew well, your food doesn’t digest as well. Removable dentures, however well done, are never as good as the original equipment was!

So the moral of this Real Age computation? Many of the factors that determine our Real Age are things we can control. And as a dentist, of course I am going to stress the ones I can help you with.

• Gum health can be improved
• Weak or broken teeth can be strengthened
• Missing teeth can be replaced with built-in, non-removable teeth
• Crooked teeth that don’t line up well can be straightened

There are many reasons to enhance your dental health, and some great fringe benefits – your smile looks and feels great!

The New Year is coming, and with it will be many people resolving to take better care of themselves… exercise more, eat more healthy food, eat less food. In the midst of all this great resolution making, don’t forget the gateway to the body! Healthy gums and strong teeth help us reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many other diseases. A healthy mouth helps us eat better food. And healthy looks so much better… Maybe that will help us do even better in our jobs next year! If you know folks making those sorts of resolutions (maybe even that person in the mirror), make sure they are staying on top of their dental health as well.

Here’s to a great gorgeous healthy new year!

Dr Bruce McArthur, creating gorgeous healthy smiles!