The human body is an extremely complex machine, and everything plays a small role in the greater makeup. That’s why you might not realize how important something like cleaning your teeth can be. However, bad oral hygiene can lead to all sorts of different diseases, including a higher associated risk of dementia, heart disease, and other major life threatening conditions.
Dr. Cameron Clokie an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in Toronto, Ontario who also doubles up as a professor at the University of Toronto teaching Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, provides his insight into how these can be prevented. His innovative approaches in oral surgery have seen him establish himself as a leader, clinician, and teacher in his field.
Dr. Cameron Clokie says that most of the problems that his oral patients face could be solved if they maintained good oral hygiene. He admits that just by the first glance at a patient it is easy to tell if they take proper care of their mouths or not.
“By keeping your dental health in check your entire body could, in turn, benefit from this,” . “The mouth, which is the entry point to the body, could take in bacteria if not well cleaned. All organs in the body could easily be affected by poor dental health. Studies have proven that Alzheimer’s disease and problems affecting the liver, kidneys and heart disease could get worse due to poor oral health.”
Dr. Cameron Clokie encourages that to avoid these problems and many more patients should regularly visit a dentist and have their oral health examined. Issues with the gums can be detected early and treated to help prevent infection to other parts of the body and delicate organs.
Clokie urges that before going in for major surgery, patients need to keep in check their oral health to avoid any complications that may arise from the operation. In most cases, the surgeon would have to postpone the procedure just to have the patient undergo and pass an oral inspection.
“Many people think that dental hygiene has to do with how your mouth looks or smells but in reality it is about more than that,” Clokie advises.
“Bacteria in the mouth have been discovered to contribute to causing heart disease. Surgeons of various practices have taken up the practice of requiring their patients to go through mouth screening before procedures like knee and open-heart surgery. If the dentist discovers any problem with the patient or infections to the mouth, they have to eradicate this before the surgery to avoid any complications.”
Dentist’s advice that with older age patients are given more medication, and this can lead to a patient having a dry mouth. On the contrary to what people believe saliva in the mouth is not only used for digestion of food but also acts as a lubricant. The saliva has antibodies that help in fighting bacteria from entering the body and in the long run can prevent many diseases. People as they grow old, with all the medication they take causes, their mouths to become dry. Eating with a dry mouth causes root cavities and if not treated eventually leads to decay.
Dr. Clokie advises those with such problems to take sugar-free gum which in the long run would help stimulate saliva secreting glands and restore saliva to the mouth. He encourages patients to regularly brush their teeth and observe good oral hygiene even when they don’t eat. Plaque in the mouth is known to build up in the mouth whether you eat or not.
“Bacteria is good in the mouth as it helps digest the food we eat,” Clokie advises. “When bacteria gets out of control it becomes dangerous to one’s oral hygiene. By brushing twice a day helps keep bacteria under control and removes any plaque that builds up in the mouth.”
Dr. Clokie says that not all kinds of toothpaste help clean the teeth, some do more harm than good when used. Toothpaste that has many active ingredients can corrode tissues in the mouth and bring about tooth decay. Clokie also advocates that everyone should maintain good oral hygiene by using the right toothpaste, flossing and regularly visiting the dentist and their oral health should be just fine. Learn more about Dr. Clokie on CrunchBase, or .
