Are you healthy, really?

Every day we all go through our normal routines and if we wake up and get out of bed, except for the occasional cold or flu, we consider ourselves healthy. I am a doctor of dentistry and daily my patients update their medical history so I can know their status before performing procedures causing high stress in most individuals. The vast majority of my patients check the box “I am healthy” even though they take several medications for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, thyroid, etc. Get my drift? You are not healthy. Your health is being controlled to a healthier state by the medications. But you are not healthy.

Bleeding gums are not healthy. Period. My last post gave all the reasons why gums bleed from a dental standpoint. Today, I will inform you of these health reasons as to why gums bleed. Statistically, over 80% of you have gum disease. That is the number one reason your gums bleed. Here are others.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease where your healing system does not function properly. Statistically we doctors know you do not take all medications exactly as prescribed. This is ultra important information for all us doctors to know when you come in for a visit. If you take medication for high blood pressure or diabetes, they can have a tremendous effect on your dental health. Some of it is the tissues (gums) do not heal properly. Some is the saliva glands do not function properly due to over 104 medications we know of that cause dry mouth. If you’re taking 2 or 3 of these, well, you have dry mouth, and your teeth and gums suffer for it. If you do not take the medication exactly as prescribed, your tissues suffer far more greatly than you can realize until the damage is too far gone.

An aspirin daily is great for your heart. If you have plaque under your gum tissue and you take an aspirin daily, your gums are going to bleed heavily. Metabolically, your body is only doing what you tell it to do so it can try to stay healthy. You are telling it to bleed more freely by taking the aspirin, but then you are also telling it you do not need to be clean and healthy in your mouth. The systems work together and you are confusing them. So you bleed more than what would be considered normal for the amount of plaque you have. If there is no plaque at all, the tissues will not bleed just because you take an aspirin, but the average person does have plaque sitting around festering so the aspirin causes far greater bleeding to occur.

Lacking vitamins is more common than one would think for the level of education and the degree to which our country avails food and proper nutrition. When you do not eat a diet based predominantly in fruits and vegetables you are not getting proper nourishment. Taking a daily vitamin pill but relying on a cheeseburger and squirrel’s nest of fries to fulfill your diet will not make your body heal nor stay healthy for a very long period of time. When you do not eat right, or do not chew your food right, you are not processing the vitamins you need for good immune protection. And your gums will bleed to tip us off to that. Especially when you have plaque down under them.

Other signs bleeding gums tell us, far less common, but real, are leukemia and anemia, and kidney or liver disease which can all be serious problems that may manifest first with bleeding gums. Again, you must be meticulous in home health care for your mouth before this can be judged, but when we clean your teeth and there is no plaque at all, yet you bleed, you will be told you need to see your physician for some blood work to find the reason.

Lack of proper nutrition, taking aspirin daily, diabetes, high blood pressure medications, or some sytemic diseases are all rea