How Being Overweight Can Harm Your Oral Health
Our Addlestone dental team examines this topical subject
A lot has happened in the last few months and we are probably not out of the woods yet when it comes to the Coronavirus. Hopefully, a better knowledge of the virus and how it spreads will help to keep it under control in the months ahead. One thing that has been discovered during this time is that obesity is a very significant factor for those who get the virus and that being overweight increases the risk of mortality.
This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise as it is widely accepted that being obese brings with it many health issues. One that hasn’t really been examined in too much detail though, is the impact that obesity can have on our teeth and gums.
At the Synergy Clinic in Addlestone, we believe that a holistic approach to oral care is important and that, whilst we will do all that we can to restore damaged and decaying teeth, we also offer advice on how to prevent this from occurring in the first place.
Our diets
Although some of us are more predisposed than others to being overweight, with genetics playing a part, the reality is that for most people, it is what we eat and also how much, that contributes most to us being overweight. Although fast foods, with their often high fat content play a significant part in this, so do cakes, biscuits and sweets etc. Indeed, whilst we might eat fast food in place of a home cooked meal, it is the cakes, biscuits and sweets that we are most likely to reach for at times when we are inactive and perhaps watching TV.
As dentists have known for a long time, sugar is responsible for most tooth decay and our fondness of sweet products makes this a problem. As the bacteria in our mouth breaks down the sugar, it produces acids. These acids then erode the enamel on the teeth, allowing bacteria to enter the porous area beneath. Eventually, teeth affected in this way are likely to need to be filled or even, potentially, extracted.