General News
Good dental care key for good health
Feb 28, 2008 2:54 PM
Good dental care can save you from a lot more than mouth-stretching, nerve-jangling, drilling-torture sessions in the dentist’s chair — though avoiding those is reason enough for most people.
There is plenty of evidence that poor dental care can lead to periodontal disease, and periodontal disease is linked to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and respiratory infection, members of the union’s Health Advisory Committee learned at a meeting Feb. 7 in a presentation on oral health by Cigna’s National Dental Director Dr. Michael Hahn, DDS.
The committee, chaired by Robert Burwick, assistant director of the UFT Welfare Fund, meets periodically to discuss health issues that affect members.
Dr. Hahn also discussed the effect of diet on dental health and some dental complications that older adults might experience from common medications.
He noted that employees in the United States miss 164 million hours of work each year because of dental-related illness.
Among other complications he listed are the deleterious effect that periodontal disease has for pregnant women. It may cause 18 percent of preterm births and low-birth-weight deliveries. And women with chronic gum disease during the second trimester of pregnancy may be up to seven times more likely to give birth prematurely, Hahn said.
He noted that diabetics have a decreased wound-healing ability, which can increase the destructive effects of gum disease. At the same time, gum disease may make it more difficult for diabetics to control their blood sugar.
Periodontal disease might also have a profound effect on cardiovascular disease, Hahn said. He pointed out that bacterial byproducts from gum tissue may enter the bloodstream and cause small clots that could contribute to the clogging of arteries. Inflammation caused by gum disease may also contribute to the buildup of fatty deposits inside arteries.
The bottom line, the committee learned, is that from young age to old age good dental care is vital for good health — and for avoiding angst in the dentist chair.
