Teeth Infections Can Harm the Rest of the Body

If you’ve never experienced a tooth problem before then consider yourself lucky. Anyone who has ever had a toothache will tell you the pain is like nothing they had ever felt before. If severe pain and swelling isn’t bad enough, a tooth infection can also be detrimental to other areas of your body and your body as a whole. Over the past decade many medical studies have been completed which illustrate a correlation between untreated dental infections and the underlying effects on the rest of the body, a phenomena referred to as the "oral-systemic connection." These infections have been shown to increase the risk of or exacerbate serious medical conditions such as heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, diabetes and more. The potential systemic medical implications originating with infections of the mouth warrant addressing your dental ailment with an emergency dentist as soon as possible.

As an emergency dentist at South Kansas City Emergency Dental, I see lots of people with less than stellar oral health.  Some of these problems are acute and simply involve a problem with one tooth that can addressed relatively easily. If it’s just one tooth that is infected, then the tooth can be extracted, or a root canal performed, and typically the infection will die off and disappear. Of course a well-progressed infection, even if originating from one tooth, can spread to other parts of the head and neck area resulting in potentially serious complications. What we are now beginning to understand, however, is that chronic infections or infections involving multiple teeth can have serious detrimental consequences on the rest of the body “systemically.”   Specifically, adult generalized periodontitis (AKA “periodontal disease") or a mouth full of severely decayed teeth, both can increase the risk of several systemic illnesses, most notably heart disease.

What is periodontitis?  In dentistry, we define the various types of tissue surrounding the tooth as the “periodontium.” The periodontium is made up of 4 different varieties of body tissue, including: the gingiva (the gum tissue), the periodontal ligament (a type of connective tissue through which the tooth attaches to the bone), cementum (a dense mineralized layer of tooth that allows attachment of the periodontal ligament), and alveolar bone (the jaw bone that essentially holds the teeth in the mouth).  Grammatically speaking, the suffix “-itis,” evolving from the Greek word “itis” is defined as “inflammation of something.” So periodontitis is inflammation of the periodontium and the 4 tissue types. Periodontal disease manifests itself primarily with deterioration and disintegration of the alveolar bone resulting in loose teeth and even tooth loss. Other symptoms include red or swollen gums, abnormal bleeding, foul breath and gum recession.

What causes periodontal disease?  There is no one cause of periodontal disease, rather its causation is multi-factorial. However, the undisputed #1 cause of periodontal disease is plaque build-up in between the teeth as a consequence of poor or nonexistent oral hygiene, including lack of flossing. (and perhaps the worst…NOT VISITING THE DENTIST.. Several other factors may cause or increase the severity of periodontal disease.

The next most significant factor which influences periodontal disease is simply genetics. For almost every patient suffering from moderate to severe periodontal disease, at least one of their parents had the disease as well.  Cigarette smoking contributes to the progression of periodontal disease by harming the gingiva, hampering the body’s ability to defend itself, and by accelerating the accumulation of plaque in the mouth.  Diabetes (RIP Wilford Brimley) contributes to periodontal disease directly and indirectly via more than one mechanism. Because diabetes damages and thickens the body’s blood vessels, the reduced transport of nutrients in, and waste products out of periodontium, impairs the body’s ability to fight periodontal disease.  Secondly, the increased blood sugar in diabetics can cause an increased salivary sugar content increasing the appetite of the already hungry bacteria who are the culprits of periodontal disease.   Other factors associated with periodontal disease include autoimmune disorders such as Crohn’s disease, scleroderma, and lupus, stress, and hormonal fluctuations seen during menopause, pregnancy or puberty.

A 2018 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, determined the existence of a “moderate” association between oral disease and coronary artery blockage and resultant heart disease.  Other studies have suggested a link between chronic adult periodontal disease with other diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and pancreatic cancer. This is especially concerning in the older adult population where oral disease is more prevalent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all Americans over 30, and 70% of those above 65, suffer from at least stage 1 gum disease. Periodontal disease has also been associated with diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, eating disorders, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer disease, poor pregnancy results, and cancer.

There is disagreement amongst experts regarding the exact physiologic mechanism by which oral disease affects cardiovascular health. One of the primary explanations for the correlation involves inflammation that can result in heart attacks, strokes and/or other sudden cardiovascular problems. Interestingly, post-mortem autopsies and studies have identified disease-causing oral bacteria in the fatty globs (arterial plaque) which accumulate in those suffering from atherosclerosis.

Teeth infections can harm the rest of the body. The studies which have illustrated the oral-systemic connection simply emphasize the urgent need to take dental infections seriously and to get treatment from an emergency dentist as soon as possible. Dental infections are considered dental emergencies.  At South Kansas City Emergency Dental, we offer extended weekend hours to accommodate those untimely dental emergencies. You can reach our office at 816-601-1817, or contact us via our website at www.southkcemergencydental.com.