"Yes. The condition of the gums is a mirror of the patient's health! Since ancient times, doctors have diagnosed and treated ill conditions of the mouth and tongue. The state of your immune system is directly linked to the status of your gums. When temporary illness or stress reduce your immune responses, the gums immediately respond with bleeding, swelling, sometimes with pain and pus, especially if they are "your weak spot." Reducing your immune defenses often leads to sleep problems. In such instances, the mouth reacts with pain and heightened sensitivity because the insomnia exhausts the nervous system.

Another example of your general health is that periodontitis is related to the formation of stomach and duodenal ulcers. If gastroenterologists have found that you have the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, it is very important to be treated until it disappears because its presence worsens your periodontitis. Conversely,, if you have developed periodontitis, and it is untreated, its bacteria activate Helicobacter pylori, which become resistant to treatment!

Diabetes (I-II type) directly affects the condition of the gums. Commonly, diabetic patients have a poor ability to cope with the bacteria, and precisely that makes their periodontium vulnerable. There is a direct link between diabetes and the control of periodontitis!

Untreated periodontal disease interferes with the action of the drugs reducing blood sugar. Conversely, the uncontrolled diabetes impairs the proper periodontal treatment. It is advisable that the complex cases of periodontal disease in combination with diabetes are treated by a periodontist, who works together with your attending endocrinologist. In many cases, the dry mouth and frequent suppurative inflammation of the gums are the first signs of undiagnosed diabetes.

Miscarriages and births. It is very important that pregnant women are aware of the link between bacteria in the gums and problems with bearing the fetus to full term! Periodontal inflammation is an active "foci" of infection and proves to be the cause of many miscarriages and premature births. Proper treatment of women before, during, and after birth is possible, subject to certain rules and deadlines.

Prescription drugs of all kinds affect the gums: high blood pressure medications generally lead to dry mouth and a slight swelling of the gums. Uncontrolled hypertension leads to spontaneous bleeding from the gums. Vasodilator and antiplatelet drugs (Aspirin, Fraxiparin, Clopidogrel, Plavix, Pradaxa, Sintrom and others) also lead to frequent bleeding of the gums. You have to share this information with your cardiologist because the drug can be in high dose. Medications for epilepsy and some psychotropic substances also lead to expansion and swelling of the gums.

The states of anemia and low doses of iron in blood also affect bleeding and frequent inflammation of the gums.

Remember that healthy gums are the mirror of your good general health! "

Dr. Shuleva