Oral health influences whole-body wellness
While most people know that practicing good oral hygiene is essential to maintaining healthy teeth and gums, they may not realize that oral health affects your overall health as well. Nicole Dahlkemper, DMD, of Water’s Edge Dentistry in Mount Pleasant, said that over the years, studies have shown various links between oral health and overall health, and research has associated mouth bacteria with the same bacteria linked to heart disease. “The whole body, as we are learning more and more, is connected. When you get periodontal disease, bad bacteria builds up and it can transfer to the heart,” she said.
Diabetes patients are prone to inflammation. Hygienists will be the first to notice these changes in gingival tissue, which will be red and inflamed and bleed easily. When the gums of diabetic patients are inflamed from poor oral hygiene, that in turn adversely impacts their blood sugar numbers. Anything that causes inflammation – the key word, according to Dr. Dahlkemper – “the mouth plays a huge part in as well.”
There also are links between oral health and pre-term babies, Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma and rheumatoid arthritis. The mouth is one of the first places where you notice symptoms of many diseases, including leukemia, HPV and gastrointestinal diseases.
Lifestyle and preventive measures
That is why scheduling regular checkups to eliminate or mitigate oral bacteria is important. “It’s also just about being healthy in general,” she emphasized. That includes eating a balanced diet low in sugars, exercising, not smoking and getting preventive cleanings.
Quality sleep is another part of the equation. Dr. Dahlkemper treats obstructive sleep apnea, a breathing disorder that can make women more prone to strokes and men more susceptible to heart attacks. Water’s Edge offers sleep apnea devices for patients who are unable to tolerate CPAP machines. “I’m not just looking at the teeth and the mouth,” elaborated Dr. Dahlkemper. “I’m checking to make connections with other diseases they might have.”
Innovation in treatment options
Additionally, Water’s Edge utilizes innovative treatments such as Invisalign, the most advanced clear aligner system in the world. With nearly 20 years of Invisalign experience, Dr. Dahlkemper is one of the product’s top providers.
While previously Invisalign was touted for aesthetics, it is now used for proper function of the teeth. Dr. Dahlkemper assesses a patient’s risk factors to determine preventive measures that can decrease the risk of more expensive future problems. “We really do try to get to the ‘why’ things are happening. We try to be proactive, not reactive,” asserted Dr. Dahlkemper.
Water’s Edge starts the Invisalign process by taking an iTero scan – a 3D image model of your teeth. “Everything is custom made. Each case is looked at individually. Everybody is a little bit different as to what movements will need to be done to the teeth,” she explained.
Treatment duration and patient experience
The length of Invisalign treatment varies depending on each patient’s goals. Easier issues like moving front teeth might take six to eight months to fix, whereas back teeth and rebuilding a bite could take a year to 18 months. “I like a comprehensive approach, if possible,” she stated.
Invisalign’s cost is comparable to regular braces, and Waters’s Edge offers patients in-house plans with monthly payments to make it more affordable. Unlike braces, aligners are removable. Therefore, there are no food restrictions. You wear them for 22 hours a day and only remove them to eat and brush your teeth.
“From the standpoint of your dental hygiene, it is a lot easier because you don’t have all the brackets on your teeth that get in the way of proper brushing and flossing,” said Dr. Dahlkemper. “When all those brackets and wires are on, it is a lot harder to clean around, and plaque and calculus build up more readily.”
Visit watersedgesc.com for more information.
By Colin McCandless
