Did you know that your oral health ties to your overall health? Many dental practices focus on oral disease treatment, which is important, but Millennium Family Dentistry focuses on complete health dentistry. This means that we take more than just your oral health into consideration when we treat dental conditions.
Oral Health: A Window to Your Wellness
We care about your overall health on top of your dental health.
When you come in, we will first complete a thorough dental exam. Then we’ll talk with you about your medical history. A complete health dentistry approach allows our team of clinicians to offer an unparalleled level of care to our patients.
Listed below are a few diseases tied to oral health and ways that our complete health dentistry approach can help combat those diseases:
Oral bacteria that causes dental decay can leach into your bloodstream and cause system-wide inflammation. Research has shown that early exposure to inflammation due to periodontal disease can lead to developing Alzheimer’s Disease later in life.
Systemic inflammation can also exacerbate arthritis. Studies show that people who have periodontal disease are more than twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers suspect that the inflammation affects both the joints and the gums because of the similarity between the tissues.
Gum disease is also linked to the development of certain kinds of cancer, especially in men. In one study, men with periodontal disease were 49% more likely to develop kidney cancer and 54% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than their peers with healthy teeth and gums.
Periodontal disease and diabetes are closely linked. This is because the sugar content in saliva changes in people with diabetes. People who have diabetes are more likely to develop advanced cases of periodontal disease. Conversely, people who struggle with gum disease are more likely to develop diabetes.
Inflammation is hard on the heart, veins, and arteries. That’s why people who have oral health problems are more likely to suffer with heart disease, heart attacks, and even heart failure. Researchers have even discovered the same strains of oral bacteria that affect your gums in the arteries leading to the heart.
Dental health problems like lingering infections, orthodontic issues, and TMJ disorders can lead to neck and jaw muscle strain. These strains can cause migraines. Dental decay can also act as a migraine trigger in people who already struggle with recurrent headaches.
Problems with obesity can also be an indicator of poor oral health because issues that lead to weight gain might also affect the condition of your mouth. For example, people that tend to gain weight might also be eating foods high in carbohydrates and sugars. This can flood the mouth with food particles that feed oral bacteria.
A mouth teeming with oral bacteria can also increase your chances of developing pneumonia and other respiratory infections. This can especially happen if you tend to breathe through your mouth. Breathing air infected with oral bacteria over a long period of time can introduce these bacteria to your lung tissue, where infections can flourish.
We don’t ignore this research at Millennium Family Dental. We carefully consider how a treatment will impact your overall health while we treat any oral health issues you may have.
Protect Your Body With Complete Health Dentistry
Our goal is to treat each patient as kindly, efficiently, and thoroughly as possible. We want to improve your chances of living your healthiest life. With complete health dentistry, we focus on optimizing your oral health by taking your ongoing medical conditions into consideration. We want to stop oral disease in its tracks—thereby promoting full body health.
Here are a few ways we focus on complete health dentistry in our office:
As your Meridian family dentist, we want you to live a happy healthy life. Let us help you get there.
Listening to You
Before your dental appointment begins, we will listen to your concerns, dental goals, and opinions. We want to get to know you and what you want from your dental care experience. We understand that every patient has very different needs. Instead of telling you what you should have done, we work to educate you about your conditions and their options, letting you make the final call.
Offering Restorative and Cosmetic Dental Procedures
To ward off dental problems, we offer a wide range of dental procedures. These include extractions, fillings, root canals, crowns, and even orthodontic care. Our goal is to give you a smile that is just as healthy and beautiful as it is functional. We want you to be able to smile, talk, and chew confidently each day.
Providing Patient Education
Patient education is the hallmark of a healthy smile. Our team will work hard to make sure that you understand what you are up against when it comes to dental decay. We will take the time to explain oral conditions you might be struggling with and the specifics of fighting it at home. We can also teach you tips and tricks to improve your oral health.
Using Advanced Technologies
At Millennium Family Dentistry, we have advanced testing and technologies, including cone beam scanning and digital X-rays. These technologies help us to identify and resolve dental problems early— before they affect your overall health.
Come to Millennium Family Dentistry for Complete Health Dentistry
There is a reason that people consider us some of the best dentists in Meridian. We focus completely on patient care and are dedicated to leaving no dental problem undiscovered. Our skilled professionals can help you to enjoy a smile that supports your overall wellness.
Schedule an appointment with us today to get started on your own oral health!