From this explanation, it reminds us that the human body should not be looked at in segments or separate systems, but we should always remember that when one system is not up to scratch, serious results could be picked up on another body system.
Example: If you have sores in the mouth or painful teeth, you will avoid chewing your food or sometimes eating at all. This could lead to an upset tummy and later to wasting away (losing body mass too quickly). As dentists, we are concerned with oral (mouth), peri-oral (around the mouth) and, in some circumstances, neck area diseases.
WHO also states that the majority of oral health conditions are: dental caries (tooth decay), periodontal (gum) diseases, oral cancers, oral manifestations of HIV, oro-dental trauma/accidents, cleft lip and palate, and noma (severe gangrenous disease starting in the mouth mostly affecting children). Most oral health conditions are largely preventable and can be treated in their early stages.
The most common of the oro-dental diseases is tooth decay (rotten teeth). These could happen or present at any stage of one’s life, as baby bottle caries in babies and as “normal” caries found in adults as well.
Baby bottle decay/caries
The caries/decay began when babies sleep with sugary drinks in their feeding bottles. The baby’s teeth become exposed, for long periods, to that sugary environment in the mouth. To stop this, no extra sugar to be added to any drink given to a baby (in ice-tea/rooibos, in milk, in any juices and water, no sugar to be added).
The baby’s mouth must be cleaned regularly (twice in a day), especially at night before the child sleeps. As soon as teeth start erupting/appearing in the mouth, the baby should get into the routine of cleaning their oral cavity/mouth each time they are bathed. The mother/caregiver should get into the routine cleaning the baby’s mouth.
At first they can use the facecloth or use handkerchief on the finger and rub gently the gums and the inside cheeks and later start introducing the baby’s toothbrush.
Adult caries/decay
I sometimes get adult patients coming in and saying that they don’t eat sweet things yet their teeth still continues to rot (decay).
Maybe we need to first explain how and why teeth rot/decay. Most of the food that we eat (that consist of carbohydrates) breaks down in to simple sugars (for example glucose, fructose, and galactose). The same simple sugars that the acid producing bacteria in the mouth consume (also eat). These acidic by-product produced by the bacteria is the one that demineralize the tooth structure and cavities develop in that weakened tooth.
What we call non-fermentable sugars, zero-calory sugars or sugar substitutes, these are replacement sugars that don’t benefit the bacteria, and that way they don’t produce the acid that damages the teeth.
So to reduce the teeth decay process or sometimes to stop it completely, the time that the teeth are exposed to the sugars should be as little as possible. That is, after eating rinse your mouth to wash away any food remnants that could be used by the bacteria. And in the evening, after supper, brush your teeth with toothbrush and toothpaste to remove possible sugars that might’ve been stuck to your teeth.
Periodontal diseases
The teeth in the mouth are supported by the gums, the jawbone and the ligaments that hold the tooth inside the bone. All these three structures are what we call the periodontium, which is the structure around the teeth. When these structures are not well/in good health, we get periodontal diseases.
When gums are swollen up and bleeding, we call that gingivitis (for example inflammation of the gingiva/gums). The severe form of these disease would be when the gums and the bone around the tooth start disappearing (receding). When we notice this gum recession and the teeth/tooth becoming loose, we call that periodontitis.
The dirt that sits on to the teeth, initial as plaque and later as calculus (the hard brown staff on teeth next to the gums) is what causes both gingivitis and periodontitis. This “dirt” irritates the gums and the gums react by swelling up and later running away from that “dirt”, hence the gum recession. And like we said, in worse cases, the gum continues to recede and also start to recede with the jawbone around the tooth. This is what leads to teeth being loose or teeth falling off.
Scaling and polishing (teeth cleaning) is what we do to remove plaque and calculus so that they don’t cause damage to the periodontium (gums and bone around the teeth). Regula cleaning is to help you reach those areas where you don’t reach with your toothbrush daily.
Hence the regular visits to the dentist are important to see the decay before it is too big and cleaning before the periodontium (gums and bone) is lost.
Dr. Thabiso Matlaila
Dentist@Townsview
