Oral cavity maintenance prolongs your life and keeps you in your OMYzone.

Dental health isn’t something we normally think of as an integral part of our overall body’s health. Maybe it’s because our healthcare system separates dentistry from the rest of our bodies. We unconsciously think of going to the dentist differently than going to the doctor.

Let’s think again:

Clearly, your mouth is a part of your body. In fact, it might be the most important part. Your mouth is the starting point of your gastrointestinal system, and in a sense, drives the whole process. Taking food into your mouth kicks off the process of turning food into energy and providing nutrients to fuel your body and sustain its wellbeing.

Before leaving your mouth (swallowing), you process the food by chewing it – breaking it down into smaller particles that you can swallow easier (mastication), and in the process mixing it with saliva.

Saliva makes the food wetter and mushier, facilitating the swallowing process. But saliva does a lot more than make food easier to swallow, it contains several enzymes that start the digestion process before the food reaches your stomach.

Open your oral cavity, here's a dentist getting ready to dive right in.

Your oral cavity is a closed processing chamber that:

  • Is the beginning of your gastrointestinal system.
  • Allows you to masticate food to break it down into smaller pieces.
  • Lets you take in liquids.
  • Mixes saliva and digestive enzymes in foods and liquids.
  • Facilitates swallowing of your mouth’s contents.

And… you can speak through your oral cavity.

Speaking is a complex process that takes a great deal of coordination amongst and between your vocal apparatus and its surroundings. When speaking, your entire oral cavity is involved and is largely responsible for the quality and uniqueness of your voice.

Your oral cavity is also a drain sump for your eyes, nose, and to some extent, your ears. Everything collected in your mouth (unless you spit it out) goes down your throat, into your esophagus, and your stomach.

Everything winds up your stomach, including things you don’t want there like dirt, dust, and debris, germs, and flying insects, foreign objects, and chewing gum – everything. Your oral cavity is a type of garbage disposal, and much of it is done of your choice.

Oral cavity infections.

If you have a healthy oral cavity, it’s probably full of good bacteria. Inside and outside, the human body is covered with good bacteria that, among other things, keep the bad bacteria away. All of this is good because, without good bacteria, we would die.

There are a few common oral cavity infections that get around your good bacteria. Here is three:

  1. Mouth sores – these are pretty common, and usually go away on their own. They can be painful and annoying, and can show up on your cheeks inner lips, and tongue. Sometimes they will need treatment, but mostly, they’ll self-resolve in a few days.
  2. Tooth infection – this will almost always require treatment – usually with an antibiotic. Sometimes, the tooth will need to be extracted (rarely, but it happens). Because of the painful nature of this infection, it usually gets treated.
  3. Gingivitis – this is a low-grade infection of the gums, and it usually results from poor dental hygine. It appears as red puffy gums that bleed easily. This infection can go on a long time, amd as such, it can be dangerous as the bacteria can enter your bloodstraem and establish themselves in other places.

Heart Disease, Gingivitis, and other diseases.

Gingivitis is a common problem in dentistry, and it can lead to serious health issues, see the link below:

https://www.healthline.com/health/gum-disease-and-heart-disease

Depending on its severity, gingivitis is usually treated by descaling the patient’s teeth below the gum line. This is followed up with oral cavity hygiene training and monthly checkups until the gingivitis clears up.

In some cases, gum surgery and long-term antibiotic treatment are needed. With long-term gingivitis, the same bacteria causing the gum infection can spread to other parts of the body. This is known from the DNA analysis of bacteria cultures from other infected sites, the pericardium for example (the sack that holds the heart in place).

OMY1’s Oral Cavity health plan.

First, if you have;t read this, check it out: DIET OMYGOALS AND PURPOSEFUL EATING.

Also read: WHY I WILL ALWAYS USE SUPPLEMENTS.

Once again, let me say that I’m not a dentist, so I’m not telling you how to keep a healthy oral cavity. Instead, I’m telling you how I keep my oral cavity healthy. Here’s my dental health plan.

Three times a year, I have my teeth professionally cleaned, and at the same time, have my dentist check my teeth. Once a year, I have a dental X-Ray to find any “hidden” problems.

Daily, I take an Oral Hygiene lozenge that you can read about here: FLU SEASON AND OMY CHECKLIST. This helps keep my oral cavity populated with good bacteria.

When I get up in the morning, I brush my teeth and tongue with a Phillips electronic toothbrush. I also use dental floss after I eat. (If I can’t floss, I rinse my mouth vigorously with plain water.) And before I go to bed, I floss with a Waterpik Water Flosser.

I do not use mouthwash because it will kill my friendly bacteria – for me, this is a self-defeating practice.

Halitosis and oral cavity health.

Bad breath is offensive and is usually caused by bad bacteria. If you’re not using a probiotic bacteria builder, dip your toothbrush in a straight-up solution of hydrogen peroxide and brush your tongue where the bad bacteria hide. Finish up rinsing your mouth out with a diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide.

Do this in the morning when you get up and before you go to bed at night. Simply rinsing your mouth out with plain water from time to time during the day helps as well.

OMY1

If you liked this article, please recommend it to a friend. Assure your friend most of my articles are free, and visitors don’t need to give me any information unless they want notifications when I post new newsletters. 

To return to the HOME page now, click “PLANNED LONGEVITY™” on your top left and look for my Avitar – this marker signals you’re on the home page.

But before you go:

Many of my Newsletters are Free, and You Don’t Want to Miss One…

Subscribing ensures you’ll get an email notification when I post new or upgraded newsletters.

Just leave your email, and I’ll take care of the rest:

(You can also use the signup option in the footer – just below the comments section.)

____________________

Disclaimer: From time to time, I will make a suggestion directing you to a specific product or service. I will make a small amount of money if you purchase any of these. This will not cost you anything extra, and it helps keep theOMYs.com’s free content accessible to anyone seeking this information.

____________________

NOTE: This post has a comments section at the bottom. This is also a sign-up form; You are asked for your username and email to discourage spamming. You can also click the button to get an email when I post my newsletters. Once you have made your first comment, you will be remembered and will not be asked for this information again in any of my newsletters.