When you go to the dentist, you\u2019re likely focused on matters like cavities and gum health. But dental experts can detect a lot more from your exam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot about someone\u2019s overall health can be observed just by looking in their mouth,\u201d Dr. Kami Hoss<\/a>, a dentist and author of If Your Mouth Could Talk, told HuffPost. \u201cIn fact, over 100 systemic conditions and many medications can have oral manifestations. This means that what happens in the mouth can often be a window into broader health issues, helping to identify problems before they escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the mouth is considered the \u201cgateway\u201d to the body, it can also be the origin of problems in many different bodily systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n The mouth\u2019s microbes \u201ccan enter the bloodstream through bleeding gums or open root canals and travel to other parts of the body, causing infections or inflammation,\u201d Hoss noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s why routine dental checkups are so important.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA comprehensive oral examination can provide valuable insights into a person\u2019s overall health and lifestyle habits, helping dental professionals identify potential issues and provide appropriate care and recommendations,\u201d said cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael J. Wei<\/a>.<\/p>\n So what exactly can a dentist infer about you from the state of your mouth? We asked some professionals to share what they\u2019ve seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n If You Floss Regularly… Or Rarely<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you go to the dentist, you\u2019re likely focused on matters like cavities and gum health. But dental…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":87430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2095,210,45533,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-87429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-evergreen","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-syndicated-huffpost","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114905693814815196","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}