Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body. Oral Health Can Reveal Serious Health Issues

Good oral health. Nobody needs reminding that it’s important in its own right. Tooth decay and gum disease are unpleasant to endure at any age.

What’s less understood, is how oral health and hygiene can indicate wider health problems – and sometimes even cause them.

Oral health and dental issues tend to be more common as we age. Older people are also more likely to wear dentures, which bring their own issues. So it’s vital for anyone involved in the care of older people to know how to spot indicators of poor oral health and to be in a position to offer basic advice on improving oral hygiene.

Barriers to Infection

Just like the skin outside our bodies, our mouths need to form an effective barrier to infection. In fact, an oral infection caused by tooth decay or gum disease is probably the easiest route of all into the bloodstream or digestive system.

According to NHS England poor oral health is associated with a greater risk of developing serious health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. It puts you at greater risk of developing pneumonia – especially if you are an older person living in a care home.

Brushing and Flossing

Effective brushing and dental flossing are the foundations of good oral hygiene. For some older people, conditions such as arthritis can make these everyday tasks harder to do thoroughly.

An electric toothbrush designed for arthritic hands can make a huge difference to general as well as oral health.

Dentures

Dentures bring additional issues and risks if they’re not cleaned thoroughly. Denture stomatitis is a yeast infection that causes inflammation and swelling around denture contact points. It can be painful and lead to problems with nutrition if it makes eating healthy foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables more challenging.

The Oral Health Foundation recommends careful cleaning with a brush and non-abrasive cleaner, daily soaking in a denture-cleansing solution and removing dentures overnight.

Given that access to NHS dental services is becoming more difficult in many parts of the country, it’s helpful for care staff to have a sound understanding of oral health issues and to be confident offering advice.

The Redcrier Oral Health Awareness course can help. It’s available through our eBox e-learning platform so it’s easy for care staff to update their knowledge in this vital area.