b'BODY OF CHRIST NEWS MAGAZINEWOMEN ON THE MOVE.How Poor Oral Hygiene Can Affect Your Overall Health: Part II A Dr. Erynn Burks is a public health practitioner, health education specialist, and health writer in Denver, CO.few months ago, we began a discussion on oral hygiene and physical health. For those whomissed part 1, here five key points to catch us all up to speed: 1. Gum disease is a collection of inflammatory conditions that affect the teeth and surroundingstructures 2. The CDC estimates that 70% of adults over 65 have some form of gum disease 3. Poor oral hygiene is the primary cause of gum disease 4. Gum disease can contribute to lifestyle-related illnesses 5. Research demonstrates that gum disease increases the risk of heart disease/strokeindependent of dietary factors But heart disease is not the only condition that has been linked back to poor oral health; researchhas also demonstrated links between gum disease and diabetes. Diabetes affects how your body metabolizes sugar and some research suggests that gum diseasecan make diabetes harder to treat and predispose individuals to diabetic complications. Forexample, part of the bodys immune response is to increase the amount of sugar available for usein bloodstream by immune cells when fighting germs. People with diabetes already havedifficulty controlling their blood sugar, so when someone with diabetes develops gum disease, heor she can have even more trouble managing their blood sugar due to this innate immuneresponse. Consistently high blood sugar puts diabetic patients at risk for complications likeblindness, neuropathy, and kidney disease. At the same time, diabetes also impairs woundhealing, making the likelihood that gum disease will progress to advanced stages more likely.Some studies suggests that diabetics are 3x more likely to develop gum disease than their non diabetic counterparts. Studies like this underscore the health effect of poor wound healingassociated with diabetes, but also suggests that diabetes may act as like accelerant for gumdisease. Other studies show that the presentation of gum disease in diabetes is proportional to theduration of the primary disease. Essentially, the longer a person has been a diabetic, the morelikely they are to have severe gum disease. There are a few proposed mechanisms for how gumdisease and diabetes interact to cause larger scale systemic effects. One hypothesis posits thatgum disease increases inflammatory markers due to chronic exposure to bacteria. This amplifiesfactors known to increase inflammation and oxidative stress, so the presence of gum disease indiabetics is essentially doubles down on the inflammatory response offering one explanation forwhy gum disease is so much more severe in diabetics compared to non- diabetics.Can I Prevent Gum Disease From Harming My Health?The common denominator between lifestyle-related diseases and gum disease is inflammation.Admittedly, there is not much one can do about his or her innate immune responses, but there arethings that can reduce the risk of developing gum disease and keep the immune system healthy.Practicing good oral hygiene like brushing twice a day, flossing, and getting regular checkups is top of mind when it comes to oral healthcare, but adding a fluoride containing product to youroral health routine if your toothpaste doesnt already have it as an ingredient can help enhanceyour efforts to keep your mouth health and teeth strong. As far as immune health goes, followingbasic health principles like eating a diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, getting regularexercise for at least 30 minutes per day, drinking at least eight 8-oz glasses of water every day,and getting good quality sleep every night will keep your immune system functioning asintended and keep your body and your teeth in top shape. 7 BOCNEWS.COM'