Your mouth is the gateway to your health: While your eyes are the window to your soul, your teeth are the window to the rest of your body. Specifically, if you pay attention to your mouth, and what’s going on within it, your teeth can be great indicators of your overall general health. If you are willing to listen, your teeth, gums, and surrounding tissues have plenty to say about your entire body.
If your gums are growing over your teeth and beginning to cover them, it could be a good indication that you’re having problems with your medication, especially if you’re taking medication for seizures, heart disease, or any kind of drugs that suppress your immune system. Additionally, teeth that are weak and prone to cracking can be a sign of acid reflux, the result of acid from your stomach backing up and eating away your enamel. This weakens and thins the enamel until it’s almost translucent, making your teeth susceptible to cracking.
Those who are stressed a lot may tend to be susceptible to headaches, but another indication of a lot of stress is flat, worn-out teeth. This actually reflects that the day’s stress has caused you to grind your teeth, mostly when you’re asleep.
What about bad breath? Okay, it could be that you just enjoyed some garlic, onions, or coffee. Or maybe you just had a cigarette. And there are other causes of bad breath–like plaque that remains in your mouth due to poor hygiene. Perhaps you are suffering from dry mouth, or you have gingivitis; these are just some of the villains behind bad breath.
At the end of the day, you always have to take care of your mouth by practicing the mantra of frequent flossing and thorough brushing. But at the same time, you have to take care of your body, because the health of your mouth depends on the health of the rest of your body, and vice-versa.
