How Your Oral Hygiene Routine Impacts Your Gut Health

Introduction

Our mouth is an entry point for both foods as well as bacteria that balance our gut system. Recent research says that dental hygiene affects dental as well as bacteria which play a very vital role in carrying out the entire digestive process. 

Before getting deeper you need to understand why dental hygiene is important for our gut health. The bacteria that are found on the surface of our tongue and different parts inside our mouth are directly responsible for balancing out bacteria that are present in our stomach. And if you don’t take care of the hygiene of your mouth then the gut bacteria as well as the entire digestive system gets disturbed.  

The purpose of this blog is to present deeper and more understandable information to our readers about oral health and what are the possible effects they can have on our gut health.

What is the Oral Microbiome?

There is a diverse number of microorganisms present inside our oral cavity such as bacteria, fungi viruses, and archaea.  All of them form ecosystems by interacting with the cell host body and hence maintain the entire microbiome of our oral cavity. Now you must be wondering how this is important.

Well, let me tell you that the balance in the oral microbiome plays a very crucial role in maintaining a good digestive system, immune system as well as respiratory system because the food Pipe and the windpipe are located at the same site. 

To make things more understandable I have mentioned some of the reasons why oral microbiome affects our overall health. 

• Oral bacteria affect the food particles by breaking them into smaller pieces using enzymes and this helps in better absorption of the nutrients.
• They also interact with our immune system and help stop the inflammation in our body and fight against harmful pathogens. 
• As there are different types of microbial present in our oral cavity that is the only reason why the taste of food nutrient absorption and the entire digestive process gets affected. 
• Oral bacteria also affect the pH level of our digestive gut bacteria which play a very vital role in balancing out the acid present in our stomach.  

Gut Health and Its Significance 

You must have heard that there is a complex ecosystem of microorganisms present in our body which affects all the metabolism that is going on inside. This also includes our gut health. A healthy gut microbiome is characterized by the number of beneficial bacteria as well as the number of harmful bacteria present inside. 

Now maintaining a good number of beneficial bacteria is important because it affects the immune system of our body and also helps in balancing out intestinal barrier integrity. 

This entire process is affected by dental hygiene as a strong ecosystem of microbes also exists in our oral cavity. People take their dental hygiene quite lightly but you must be aware that slide imbalance in the microbial ecosystem can lead to serious diseases like Gastrointestinal disease, autoimmune disease, and even depression and anxiety due to poor digestive system. 

Link Between Oral and Gut Health 

If we look into oral and gut-health bacteria then there is a huge area for research in both the microbial ecosystems which play a very intricate role in maintaining the health of our entire digestive tract.

If you look at the research that was done a decade ago then they clearly say that they are quite separate ecosystems from one another but recent research has found out they are directly related to one another. 

A change in any of these ecosystems affects the entire working of another ecosystem and hence it causes an imbalance in the entire microbial ecosystem of our body.  

You will be surprised to know that oral microbes can travel into our gastrointestinal tract and affect the working of the digestive microbiome and vice versa. Some of the supporting evidence for the statement is mentioned below so that you can understand things clearly. 

• Studies have shown that the oral bacteria travel through saliva and swallowing which helps them to reach out to get bacteria and vice versa.
• The oral bacteria also modulate the composition of gut bacteria which can affect its stability and work directly.
• Some of the animal study evidence also proves that there is a direct link between oral and got bacteria as both can travel through digestive tracts and affect each other’s work.
• A slide disturbance in the microbiome of oral as well as gut health can affect several systems of our body such as the cardiovascular system, immune system, and respiratory system. 

Impact of Poor Oral Hygiene on Gut Health 

In the above heading, we have already discussed how oral bacteria can travel into our gut system and affect the working of the entire gut microbial ecosystem. Poor dental hygiene can imbalance gut microbial health.  

On the other hand, poor dental hygiene can also cause inflammation in the digestive tract which can lead to several other serious problems.

Some of the major impact of poor dental hygiene on our gut health is mentioned below: 

• Periodontal disease is one of the major results of poor dental hygiene as it causes inflammation in the oral cavity and causes infection in gums and surrounding tissues. 
• This can travel into the main bloodstream and get into our digestive tract leading to a serious infection in our stomach. 
• Cavities or dental caries are another result of poor dental hygiene which is caused by bacteria that secretes acids which causes the demineralisation of tooth enamel. 
• There is another oral infection that is caused by oral fungi known as candida albicans which is again the result of poor dental hygiene and this travels into the digestive tract and enters our gut health. 
• Halitosis is also one of the serious results of poor dental hygiene where bad dental bacteria build up and cause severe dental infections. 

Benefits of a Good Oral Hygiene Routine

Our oral cavity is home as well as the starting point of our body where the microbiome has a diverse ecosystem. This is because it is important to maintain good dental hygiene as it affects several other systems of our body such as digestion, respiration, cardiovascular and immune systems. Some of the major benefits of a good dental hygiene routine are mentioned below: 

• Regular brushing of teeth helps in reducing the piled-up plaque that forms at the top layer of our teeth. 
• Using toothpaste that contains fluoride helps in removing harmful bacteria from our oral cavity.
• Maintaining good dental hygiene also keeps you away from diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. 
• Good dental hygiene also keeps you away from cavities which are the result of the demineralisation of enamel. 
• Maintaining good dental as well as oral hygiene also helps in reducing the risk of oral infections which affect the digestive tract of our body. 

Conclusion

In the end, All That Matters is good dental hygiene which is responsible for good digestive health and also Affects the overall health of our body. In all the above headings we have discussed all the possible aspects that one should know about how dental hygiene affects the gut health and other systems of our body. 

It is also important to go for regular dental checkups which helps us keeping aware of our dental health track.

In case of any complications, we can take action before it becomes a serious issue for our health. 

We need to understand that dental hygiene is the starting point of microbial entry for our body and that’s why the Hygiene of the oral cavity becomes more important. If this gets affected the entire system will be affected.