Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Periodontal Disease and your health!

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Periodontal Disease and your health!

Sometimes it takes a personal experience or something close to home to motivate ourselves. As a dentist we are always talking to our patients reminding them to brush and floss. Not to mention the persistent reminders to have their teeth cleaned on a regular basis.

We know that good overall health can begin with the mouth. There is enough evidence of how the health of the mouth impacts the entire body. Kathi Shepherd, director of educational development and outcomes assessment for the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Dentistry and the dental hygiene program has one of those personal motivating stories. Her uncle was diagnosed with what physicians thought was a brain tumor. When surgeons operated they found dental bacteria in his brain. The infection left him paralyzed on the left side. “My uncle's teeth had not been regularly cleaned for 10 years. It was a dental infection on his brain,” said Shepherd.

You can understand why Ms. Shepherd has become a “raving fan” for people to get their teeth cleaned and to start early. “It's imperative to start early with a daily oral care routine. Now insurances are starting to cover infant oral exams even before age 1 because dental bacteria forms the minute there's a tooth in the mouth. Even for a baby, a mother should be getting in there even with a washcloth to get the bacteria off the teeth.”

Periodontal disease often is asymptomatic; even more of a reason why routine dental examinations and hygiene visits are important. If it has been more than 3 years since your last dental visit, please call our office at 561-394-9000. Our TEAM will help you to make an appointment for a dental “physical” examination to help you maintain the best dental health that you deserve.

Kenneth A. Mogell, D.M.D.