The inside of the mouth connects to the rest of the body.
One of the most diverse microbiomes is found inside the human mouth, which includes fungi, protozoa, viruses, and bacteria.
Our teeth are alive inside our mouth, as they require their own blood supply, and have nerve endings, draining into the lymphatic system and tonsils and connect to other organ systems in the body.
Our oral health connects with our digestive system health, immune system, lymphatic system, nervous system, respiratory system, and even our skin health.
It is important to understand the role of our oral microbial diversity.
If the oral microbiome becomes out of balance, it can present other issues and symptoms in the body.
There is an identified connection between your oral health and skin health.
If there is an overgrowth of certain pathogens inside the mouth for example specific bacteria, this can contribute to various autoimmune skin conditions.
An imbalance in the oral microbiome stimulates an immunoinflammatory response because the oral microbiome affects the body’s immune system function which can contribute to dermatological diseases.
For example, atopic dermatitis shows an association with gingivitis, toothaches, and oral infections. Even bleeding gums can correlate with eczema.
A popular dental procedure is dental amalgams that are composed of a toxic metal called mercury and other metals such as silver. Mercury is a neurotoxin and exposure can lead to long-term health effects. Metals have cytotoxic, immunological, and carcinogenic effects, as well as influence on metabolism. These metals bind to proteins, enzymes, and cell membranes in ionized form and influence their function. These have the ability to trigger different types of allergies, foreign body-induced inflammation, and autoimmune diseases.
In particular, dermatitis has been linked to an allergic reaction to dental amalgams.
Another inflammatory skin condition, psoriasis presents a strong connection with the overgrowth of oral streptococcal bacteria in our mouth’s ecosystem.
Canker sores are correlated with poor periodontal health and greater plaque accumulation.
The health of your mouth is more than brushing our teeth twice a day, it is an important intricate ecosystem that connects to the rest of the body.
- Tongue cleaner: A tool that helps remove bacteria from the tongue, start by running the tongue cleaner from the back to front of the tongue at least two to three times using light pressure. Rinse the tongue cleaner under warm water between scrapes. Disinfect in between uses.
- Flossing: Floss that is free from Teflon and petroleum.
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Water Pik: Using a water pik daily to clean teeth and reach places that manual flossing might miss. Bonus: Adding in a few drops of an herbal formula to the water mixture for the water pik that supports oral health, we like Microbiome Guard from Organic Olivia, that helps balance the gut-oral-lung microbiome.
- Eating a nutrient dense diet, to ensure we are nourishing our body along with adequate minerals, and not skipping on fat soluble vitamins that are important for oral health. Vitamins A, D, E, and K2 are important for your immune system as well, that is impacted by our overall oral health. If you are searching for a Vitamin D supplement support outside of diet, our D3 + K2 is our internal supplement support to add in for vitamin D3+K2 nutrient.
- Minimizing processed foods in diet.
- Using non fluoride formulated toothpaste and toothpaste that has nano-hydroxyapatite, such as Boka’s toothpaste formula.
- Eliminating harsh oral hygiene products that contain ingredients such as Sodium laurel sulfate, Triclosan, synthetic food dyes and coloring.
- Looking into issues such as teeth grinding, sleep apnea, TMJ, tongue ties all associated with oral health and connected with the rest of the body.
- Balancing the digestive systems microbiome to support the oral microbiome.
- Seating down and chewing your food, not eating in a rush.
- Visiting a biological dentist in your area that views the body as whole and involves dentists working to treat the individual not just the teeth and have the best interest for their patients.
- Here is a free tooth meridian chart that allows you to see which teeth or tooth group correlate to other organ system zones in the body. https://www.talkinternational.com/meridian-tooth-chart/