How many of you can honestly say that you take proper care of your oral health? Come on, be honest with me here guys! I won’t judge, I fall under the same bracket as well; most people don’t take proper care of their mouth at all.

Sure, we brush our teeth twice per day (at least I hope you do!), but this merely scratches the surface when it comes to maintaining good oral health. You should be flossing a few times per week to keep your gums healthy, going to regular dental checkups every 6 months or so, and ensuring you cut down on your sugar intake.

Most of us don’t really do all of this as we never really give our oral health the attention it deserves. We don’t tend to associate serious health issues with our teeth and gums, but your mouth is the gateway to the rest of your body! If you don’t take care of your oral health, then you could end up with all sorts of other issues. Today, we’re going to look at a few unexpected problems that stem from a lack of dental maintenance, so you can maybe think about making 2019 the year of excellent oral healthcare!

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Teeth Falling Out

This problem is shocking in the sense that it can literally shock you when it happens, but it shouldn’t really be much of a surprise! If you don’t look after your teeth and gums, then your teeth will eventually start falling out. It all comes from your gums being so poorly taken care of that they become weak and start to recede. Slowly but surely your teeth get looser and looser as there’s nothing really keeping them in your mouth. So, they begin to fall out, leaving you with a lovely smile full of gaps!

To compound the problem, when your teeth fall out, the bone in your jaw starts to do all kinds of weird stuff and recede as well, which completely alters its structure. This can be painful and cause more issues for you going forward. The good news is that you can easily prevent this problem by brushing your teeth for two minutes twice per day and flossing daily. This keeps your gums healthy and firm, stopping your teeth from falling out.

Furthermore, you can put a stop to this is you notice one or two teeth falling out already. It’s not too late to reverse the problem by following the advice stated above. Plus, with things like dental implants, you can get replacement teeth for the ones that fell out. This is a good option if one or two have gone, so you can keep a full smile and prevent others from following!

Heart Disease

I’ll be honest, when I started doing the research for this, I was astonished at some of the severe health complications that come from poor oral health. Who’d have thought it could cause something like heart disease?! Some of you might think I’m making this up to scare you, but it’s genuinely the truth.

You see, if you don’t take care of your mouth, then you end up with loads of bacteria building up in your teeth and gums. This is what causes things like gum disease, and it doesn’t stop there. All of this bacteria has to go somewhere, and it ends up entering your bloodstream. From here, it gets carried to your heart where it pretty much messes up your arteries. It sounds gross, but it leads to a build-up of plaque in your arteries, which essentially causes heart disease.

Now, if you have a problem like this, then it opens the door to so many other severe issues. Heart disease ultimately leads you on a path to heart attacks, which nobody wants to experience. The thing is, all you have to do is take care of your oral health to try and prevent this!

Inflammation & Arthritis

Inflammation is a funny old thing as it’s a classic example of our body trying to do good but ending up doing bad. In reality, it’s our body’s way of responding to a problem and trying to fix it. But, too much inflammation results in chronic pain and soreness, along with high blood pressure. With bad oral health, you end up with lots of inflammation in your body, leading to various disease.

The most common inflammatory disease is arthritis, which is where you get constant pain in joints throughout your body. Of course, when you have gum disease, your gums become inflamed, and this can cause arthritis in your jaw. But, the inflammation builds up and spreads throughout your body, which can cause issues in your neck, back, and who knows where else.

It’s not good to have so much inflammation in your body, and it can all be caused by your poor dental hygiene routine!

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Dementia/Alzheimers

Yes, your mental health can be just as badly affected as your physical health! Dementia and Alzheimer’s are very serious health issues, and they can stem from gum disease. Again, it’s all thanks to the bacteria from this disease finding it’s way into your bloodstream and into your brain.

It’s just not worth the risk, so you need to pay close attention to your oral health – particularly your gums – to stop this from becoming an issue.


So, we’re just a few weeks into the new year, and you’ve been hit with this lovely article that’s probably scared the pants off of you! I do apologize, but it’s something I think we need to be aware of. A lot of people believe bad oral health causes caries which mean you need a filling But, it does much more than that! You can end up with no teeth, heart problems, inflammation, arthritis, dementia, and much more.

My whole point of writing this is to improve awareness and help you maintain good all-around health and wellness. Yes, you may be eating well and exercising regularly to look after your physical health. But, don’t neglect your oral health in 2019 as it can cause some severe health problems that last forever! Start brushing and flossing regularly, see your dentist every few months, and say hello to good dental health.




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